Hummer sale, truck cutback could hit Shreveport General Motors plant

General Motors’ plant in Shreveport faces a potential double whammy from Tuesday’s announcement that the auto giant will cut production of trucks and may sell its gas-guzzling Hummer brand.

GM also said it would lay off salaried workers, suspend its dividend and borrow up to $3 billion to weather a downturn in the U.S. market.

Specifics about the Shreveport plant were scarce Tuesday. The plant employs 1,946, including 190 salaried workers, 1,611 hourly workers and 145 temporary employees. It builds Hummer H3s and two mid-size pickups, the Chevrolet Colorado and the GMC Canyon, and plans to roll out the new Hummer H3T pickup truck in September.

The company’s plan to sell up to $4 billion of assets, including the Hummer line, raises questions about the future of the Shreveport plant. Another round of truck production cutbacks complicates the picture.

GM spokeswoman Traci Murray said the H3T is still on track to reach dealerships.

“It’s a tossup on reviewing the brand and seeing if someone comes to the table to make an offer,” Murray said.

Earlier, GM said its review of the Hummer brand could include a redesign to make the vehicles more fuel-efficient.

David Healy, an auto industry analyst for Burnham Securities, said he doubted the sale of Hummer would have much impact on GM’s long-term prospects. He said it might be a “better fit” for a foreign manufacturer, such as India’s Tata Motors Ltd., which recently paid Ford Motor Co. $2.3 billion for the Jaguar and Land Rover brands.

Healy would not speculate on what price GM might get for Hummer.

“They’re selling it at the worst possible time, but if times weren’t bad, they wouldn’t be trying to sell it,” he said.

Recently, 377 hourly workers left GM in Shreveport under buyout or early retirement programs under a plan to replace them with entry-level workers making about $14 per hour. That’s about half the rate of current production workers.

Although GM said Thursday that 19,000 hourly workers recently left the company, more reductions will be needed.

Representatives of the United Auto Workers local for the Shreveport plant did not return calls for comment.

The plant is closed this week as a measure to reduce production.

Richard Bremer, president of the Shreveport Chamber of Commerce, said local and state economic development officials were in contact with GM and monitoring the company’s situation.

“I don’t know exactly where it’s going,” Bremer said.

Cutbacks in Shreveport are to adversely affect companies that supply the plant with parts. Bremer said about 16 major suppliers have located in recent years in the Shreveport area, with others extending into east Texas.

Over the past few years, GM has spent over $1.5 billion on the Shreveport plant, including $73 million to prepare for assembly of the Hummer pickup truck. In 2004, the Legislature agreed to phase out sales taxes on manufacturing machinery and equipment for all Louisiana companies. In 2007, the state fully repealed that tax for GM and provided another $1.28 million in sales tax exclusions.

Louisiana State University economist Loren Scott said GM’s recent investment in the Shreveport plant could lead the company to shift production of other vehicles to Louisiana.

“The Shreveport plant has a really good reputation for productivity and good union relationships,” Scott said. “So, my guess is it would be one of the last plants to totally close.”