GM to close Detroit passenger car factory for six weeks

Oct. 12 (UPI) -- U.S. automaker General Motors will close a Detroit plant until the end of the year and scale back its assembly line production next year, the company said Thursday.

GM's Detroit-Hamtramck plant will shut down for six weeks, beginning in mid-November -- idling about 1,500 workers, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing individuals familiar with the plan.

When the factory reopens in early 2018, it will scale back production by 20 percent -- or about 200 workers.

GM confirmed the report, saying it intends to keep its current production in line with demand.

The automaker's move was expected, and comes after several hundred people at the facility were laid off earlier this year.

U.S. sales have slowed for all automakers this year -- notably in the category of passengers cars, as customers have preferred SUV and crossover models, as well as light trucks. . The Detroit-Hamtramck plant builds Chevrolet Volt and Impala, Cadillac CT-6 and Buick LaCrosse vehicles.

In the first nine months of 2017, GM sold 15,634 LaCrosse models, a 21 percent drop from last year. Sales of the Volt fell 6 percent and Impala 31 percent, while sales of Cadillac's CT6 increased more than 50 percent.