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

Obviously GM will make sure not to be at the brunt end of such public criticism

No announcement has been made as to what will happen to Linden's hourly workers once production ends next summer. (Photo: General Motors of Canada)

again, and work with displaced employees to assist in replacement, either within the GM family or outside.

Still, no announcement has been made as to what will happen to Linden's hourly workers once production ends next summer, or before. It is possible that they could be put on indefinite layoff, which would mean employees would continue to receive upwards of 95 percent of current wages for an as yet to be determined period of time. There will also be many Linden hourly workers who will be eligible for retirement.

Despite the need to uproot from a community where family ties and friendships would be as difficult to leave as personal investments in real estate, Linden workers could relocate, to any number of GM facilities. For instance,

Linden workers could relocate to one of GM's more modern or upgraded factories, where the Chevrolet Malibu, Pontiac G6 (shown), and the new compact Delta based Chevrolet Cobalt are produced. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press)

while the outdated Linden and Baltimore plants are about to fall to the axe, the automaker has been modernizing other assembly plants closer to suppliers in the mid-west, such as the Lake Orion, Lordstown, Ohio facility and Fairfax, Kansas plant, undergoing major revisions for the production of the Epsilon car family including the Chevrolet Malibu and Pontiac G6, and now the new compact Delta based Chevrolet Cobalt and Canada-only Pontiac Pursuit.

All-new plants include the Lancing Grand River Cadillac facility, and in 2006 GM plans to open a new flexible facility in Delta Township, just outside of Lansing, for production of its new line of SUVs and crossovers.