GM to End Blazer/Jimmy Production and Close New Jersey Plant

"We're adjusting manpower to current production," Weinmann said. "We have to react."

Just how slow are they? Well, no Jimmys have been sold in the United States this

Even with the launch of newer vehicles, GM saw a market for the less expensive SUVs and therefore production continued and the plant stayed open for about 3 years. (Photo: General Motors of Canada)

year, down from just 52 sold through October in 2003. Instead, the outgoing GMC has been sold in Canada along with the Blazer. The Blazer has done much better in the U.S., which wouldn't be difficult, yet demand is down 27.5 percent this year, to 31,271 units sold through October.

Initially when the new Chevy TrailBlazer and GMC Envoy were introduced, their two smaller, less refined predecessors were to be cancelled, but GM saw a market for the less expensive SUVs and therefore production continued and the plant stayed open for about 3 years, as of this date.

The Linden facility, opened in 1937, housed a total of 2.6 million square feet of floor space. It dropped its second shift in 2002,

The Linden facility, opened in 1937, housing a total of 2.6 million square feet of floor space. (Photo: General Motors of Canada)

when sales of the aging sport utilities began to wane. Reports cite the plant's location, outside of the majority of supplier hubs, its age, GM's current eroding market share and a general economic slump as reasons behind the plant closure, emphasizing that the move was not a result of the quality or skill of the Linden workforce.

So when was the last time GM shut down an assembly plant? The year was 1999, the place Flint, Michigan and the facility the Buick City complex. The closure brought international scrutiny, much in part to a film made by controversial documentary maker Michael Moore, called "Roger and Me", name for previous GM CEO Roger Smith.