GM to lay off 600 at northern Mexico plant

General Motors says it will lay off 600 workers at a key production plant in northern Mexico due to falling demand in the country and in the United States.

Company spokesman Angel Sanchez said Thursday that the cuts will come in February and March at the factory in Ramos Arizpe in Coahuila state. The plant currently employs about 4,500 workers.

General Motors Corp. has some 12,700 Mexico employees. It dismissed 600 workers in the country last year when it stopped making the Suburban at its Silao plant in Guanajuato state.

Mexican car sales plunged 20 per cent in November, while U.S. automakers reported this week that January sales plunged 37 per cent.

Mexico's auto industry makes up three per cent of gross domestic product.

Source : AP
[tags : recession bankrupt collapse retrenchment financial news collapse stagnation economic slowdown financial collapse world recession global recession layoff job cut]