I have on very good authority that the American Axel strike is going to create production problems for several GM models including the Cobalt if it is not rectified soon. The company supplies Delphi with some of the components for the front hub assembly, and Delphi is just about to stop assembly because they are out of parts. Maybe somebody knows better than I, but unless something is done soon, those of us who are waiting for our Cobalt's may be waiting a little longer!

 

better not, those jerks better get back to work cause i'm putting in my order in the morning.

 

Gm has stated that they have enough axles, hubs and other products from American axle to last another month so about to the middle of April. Looks like mine will be made before that, but i believe that a resolution will be found by then

 

gm will lose too much money if they don't resolve this you know they will take care of this issue in a timely fashion.

 

not only will gm lose money but as a person with a family the employees can't afford to strike much longer.

 

ohhhh and of March 20th GM has moved a majority of the axle manufacturing to Mexico so in the end it won't create to much of a problem. Also Gm is kinda happy this happened it lessens its current inventory by over 100,000 units, which means more profit for GM

 

LORDSTOWN — The monthlong strike at auto parts maker American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc. may halt car production at the General Motors Corp. Lordstown Complex within 10 days, a union official said Tuesday.

United Auto Workers Local 1112 President Jim Graham said the 2,400-worker factory could stop building the Chevrolet Cobalt small cars anytime between Friday and April 4 when it runs out of a part to make brakes that are used by nearby supplier Automodular.

“It’s a relatively small part, but we got to have it,” Graham said.

American Axle makes axles, transmissions, suspensions and many other parts used in trucks and cars.

Dave Green, president of Local 1714 at the next-door Metal Center plant, said management is looking at Tuesday as the day a shortage of the part may affect production.

“It looks like we’ll definitely be affected if things don’t settle down,” he said.

He noted his 1,000 members may continue working a day or two longer than the assembly side in order to fill the system with metal frame parts for the Cobalt and its Pontiac G5 cousin.

GM spokesman Dan Flores said the company only announces when a plant is being idled by a strike, not any future impact a strike may have. He said 28 GM facilities have been shuttered by the Axle strike since it began, but so far the only plants affected have been truck or sport utility vehicle factories, not car factories.

The fuel-efficient Cobalt has been GM’s second-best selling car behind the Chevrolet Impala in recent months as the price of gasoline has risen. Lordstown workers have been putting in overtime Saturday shifts to meet demand.

Any Lordstown workers laid off because of the strike may qualify for Supplemental Unemployment Benefit pay immediately but may have to wait a week to get state unemployment compensation, officials said. Flores said he understands supplemental pay would be reduced once state jobless pay began.

Union officials said they expected the strike to catch up with Lordstown eventually.

“Hopefully, it doesn’t last a long time,” Graham said.

Green said many of his members support the roughly 3,600 American Axle workers, even more after chief executive received nearly $10.2 million last year when the company made $37 million.

He received $9.3 million the year before when the company lost $222.5 million.

“Those guys are standing up to lower wages and health care benefits and things that are critical to the working class,” he said. “At a time when the CEO is making millions of dollars, it doesn’t seem right that everyone else has to take a pay cut.”


Not sure as to how true this is, but it seems real, as soon as April 4th!!!!, that means that if what GM stated earlier that as of march 31st the lordstown factory would be making sellable Cobalt ss/tc but real production starts april 7th. Though the article states this is just for the cobalts, could this mean the ss/tc since it uses a different hub assembly? Lets hope this isn't the case because either way if they don't have the hubs they will shut down the factory!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! if anyone has any contacts or actually works at the Lordstown plant please give some insight in this issue, if this is true and if production on the ss/tc has already started or not?

 

**** it, let them come stock with driveshaft shop stage 2's

 

lol it is the hubs that they are low on, but you would think that they stocked up new axles for the ss/tc for production, but once again will they still keep producing just ss/tc's or just shut the whole plant down?

 

i doubt it uses different hubs...... im sure they are the same as the solstice/sky/ and prolly ss/sc

 

So from a source i heard that the ss/tc is already in full production, it is just that GM has to say ohhh not tell this date even though that is not true, they were being built as early as march 1st in full production from what i have seen. So that means some ss/tc could possibly be out in dealers as soon as the beginning of april. but it looks like they are stockpiling them at the moment. the regular cobalt right now has a 49 day stock.

 

The machine shop i work for is saying that there brother shop is going to be making 20,000 parts.

 

to keep them in production?

 

Yikes....guess I might be waiting a little longer (but that's ok need to save some more CASH). Anyway since you already ordered your car and you got Imperial Blue, I was wondering, what interior color options can you order with this color? Is red and black available? I was thinking that Victory Red vinyl covering the SS and Chevy Bowtie emblems would look pretty hot with the dark blue.

 

I think you can order red and black, i think, but defiantly black on black, and black on gray.

 

Just confirmed on the news tonight, Lordstown is shut down for a month.

 

grrrrrrrr, god GM just can't get it together. American axle has said if this doesn't end soon all the 3,600 people who work for them in the U.S. will be out of a job, cause they will shut them down and build the parts at their other factories in other countries.

 

Proof? Everything I find says not until next week before possible closing

 

Yeah i saw April 4th. on like 5 sites.

 

Hey, I wouldn't blame GM. Those people working at American Axle don't realize how good they have it...and by the time they do, it will be too late. Us as American's (myself included) are so ungrateful for what we have till we lose it, then we all cry about how the world has done us such an injustice. The ENTIRE auto industry is suffering right now, sometimes you just have to take what you're offered, then go home and count your losses. At my workplace (not automotive) I haven't got a raise for almost 2 years because of how bad things are here. Why should we have to suffer while union workers make out the same a usual? I'm sorry but $30 an hour to assemble axels is a little ridiculous (I know everyone their doesn't make that kind of money). GM workers have had to pay, so why should their suppliers be any different? Enough said, I'm now going to find my flame suit.

 

Has anyone heard any recent news on the lordstown plant?