smiles6 - Chapter 11 means current GM stock holders are wiped out. Meaning worthless and total loss. This is being confirmed in a report today about the first court hearing.

apologize to someone that whines about supporting his country,but yet the same person supports japan,i don't think so! More of your money goes to japan,then you are going to spend for your own country,but ignorance can't be taught ,some just are.

Its all politics.
Obamas payback to the unions for getting him elected. He will count noses of "his" constituents and see which plant to choose.
WI is listed as 10th for being business unfriendly.

Unless Your new to this type of blog communication site?
I would think by now that you'd understand, it is better to let the uninformed stay in thier shells.
I know. And I understand that when YOUR more informed about this subject, let alone first hand information; it is difficult to allow nay-sayers and sceptics to rant on how they are not pleased with the overall performance of the economy and thier inept collection of data.
One must keep in mind, silence sometimes is golden.
Its not that the concerned do not understand the aditude of those that do-not. We have lived this for so long it is old news.
When we react in this positive way? It gets things done. Passive as it may seem. That has always been a total streingth of Our Union.
Being wiser than the average area nay-sayer(s).
I commend those whom attempt to clarify for those whom really want-to-know information.
What they do not understand is, the dominoe effect that is about to unfold. Its been peaceful in Naysayerland so far. Yet, we understand why. Now? However, the poop is about to roll downhill and they may chose economic certanties over thier dislike for a company.
If they offer thier support for such, it could also encourage a more prosperous outcome for thier employment also. And thier wellbeing.
Just remember, it takes two to argue. Kill em with kindness.
^5 to the task force.

Woodsman....calm down and try to refrain from using the caps lock button:) I do support America--I'm one of the taxpayers who is contributing a portion of the $50 billion to the "save GM" charity.....I also support America when I buy from Toyota and Honda due to the fact that many American workers collect a paycheck while working in their factories in this country. I'm covering all my bases--supporting car companies who have always taken care of me and produced a quality product with a high resale value(Honda and Toyota) and also by supporting GM through my tax dollar contributions--an automaker that sold me several cars of "questionable" quality, that I got totally burned on when resale entered the picture. Only someone who is truly "supporting America" would support a company that sold them junk--so please apologize for your rant when you get a chance:)

and I am considered for the presidency.

Are we sure Janesville is on the list? I have read several major news stories and they only mentioned Spring Hill, Tn and Orion, MI as being in the running for the new small car line. Do they have the wrong info? Or do we?

Might take a look at this story on Springhill, Tn. The plant is in competition with Janesville for the new small car line. GM has put nearly a billion in improvements into this plant. The local union has agreed to work 6 days a week with no overtime in order to secure the line.

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/06/0...

Jasper--I seriously hope your comment was sarcastic. I'm all for GM being successful again--after all they owe us(taxpayers) $20 billion dollars......but I would hardly consider any product they put out--especially after the government gets involved--to be better than the products of Toyota and Honda. Those are the only two manufacturers that I have bought cars from that haven't let me down--and the only two that I'll remain loyal to......

Thanks for the luck, ramstud!

See below...

The "new" GM will keep the Janesville plant after the bankruptcy. Good news considering the bankruptcy would be the perfect time to get rid of unneeded assets. Why hold on to a factory that isn't in their plans?

UPDATED Monday June 1, 2009 -- 3:05 p.m.
Governor Doyle Statement on General Motors Developments

MADISON – Governor Doyle today issued the following statement regarding recent General Motors developments that might affect the Janesville plant:

“Today we are learning more about the bankruptcy of General Motors and about the potential effects on Wisconsin , especially on the workers in Janesville . We all understand how important auto manufacturing is to the overall economy of Wisconsin , including the auto suppliers and dealerships.

“Since GM announced about a year ago that it would be closing the Janesville plant by 2010, I have been working to save these jobs. I named a local leadership team, including co-chairs Brad Dutcher of the UAW and Janesville school board member Tim Cullen, and Assembly Speaker Mike Sheridan, to make sure we left no stone unturned as we continued our fight for good jobs and the health of the community.

“My staff, this leadership team and I have continually been working at the highest levels, including the White House, to fight for Janesville .

“I spoke with GM executives over the weekend and have learned the plant at Janesville will not be sold as a part of the bankruptcy, meaning that we do have hope and can compete for jobs manufacturing cars.

“This morning GM publicly confirmed that the Janesville plant has been placed on standby and is one of three plants being considered to manufacture small cars at some point.

“Everything we have been fighting for over the past year is to get us to this point. We are in a positive position, and we are going to compete very aggressively for everything moving forward.

“GM knows the talent and dedication of the people of Janesville and all of Wisconsin . Over the years the company has demonstrated its pride in the Janesville plant.

“Now it looks like we have an opportunity to restore that confidence and pride with our workers turning out the high quality products that only Wisconsin workers can.”

A government car built in Janesville by a company owned by the Government and UAW should be REAL competition for Toyota and Honda.

It's not an "excuse", the fact is they do own the plant and the land it's on. The fact they do own it is an "advantage" in that if all they have to pay for is a retooling and not pay rent. But they do pay taxes which Janesville and the state need...badly.

How do you know GM doesn't "own" the other two plants? That same excuse was used by people that said GM would never close the Janesville plant.

There are pros and cons for all 3 plants, it really comes down to which state gives the most green to line the pockets. If your broke you follow the green!

Not to mention GM OWNS this building, cheaper to use whats yours than rent.

What difference does it make how old the walls are? The equipment making the cars will be new. Our work force puts out better quality than the others. If GM wants to 'come back' do you think they will do that with crap cars or quality cars?

Considering GM's dismal track record over the past decade, I guess the possibility of retooling the oldest plant, without a stamping plant nearby, shouldn't come as a surprise. Unless this new subcompact can compete with the Honda Fit and upcoming Ford Fiesta, GM is doomed to extended suckling on the governments teet. Ironically, the political pressure that shamed GM into building the car here and not in China will make GM less competitive.

i'm not biting at any carrot. i am merely stating facts about what we were told. am i saying that new product is coming to janesville? no, but we are one step closer and i won't count on it till it happens. Like i said, i am guardedly optimistic about our chances. and ramstud, thanks for the luck.

What difference does it make? GM doesn't plan on producing Tahoes and Suburbans here anymore. Until they retool to build something else, it's closed.

Another attempt at humor or a sick prank? Janesville is not going to reopen and you all need to face reality. GM will not be picking a 90 year old plant over Lake Orion or Spring Hill and most of you should be smart enough to understand that much. It's just a small bone to keep the people in Janesville off GM's back for a few months.

Correct me if I'm wrong - I'm under the impression that the Janesville plant was NEVER listed as 'closed' and always listed as 'idle'.
As for a new product here - it's now up to who greases the most!

the Lake Orion plant makes the malibus and g6's my brother works there and the are scheduled to close in September, but are on the list for the small car.

I work at the Wentzville, MO plant and we watched the speech by ceo Fritz Henderson and he named Orion, Spring Hills, and he took Janesville off closed status and put it in standby status. He said one of those 3 Plants will build the new car. Thats straight from the mouth of our CEO. Good Luck Janesville.

How many carrots can be dangled before you people quit biting? As someone who was in the plant and heard it all, sooner or later you have to learn to quit listening. Make your plans like GM is not re-opening so that you will be prepared. If it does, great! If not, at least you haven't screwed yourselves.

we were told shortly after 10 AM this morning from our superiors that we had been named a stand by plant with Orion(trucks) and the Spring Hill facility which i believe makes mid size SUV's. Yes the plant is the oldest but its one the very few in the system that can handle 3 or more cars on the same line. Management liked the fact that we are very close to the interstate or close to rail lines to ship our product. being in the midwest this keeps shipping costs down.

One more question...GM filed for bankruptsy...so why are people still buying stock today? Isn't it virtually worthless until the new GM is formed? I saw on CNBC that shares were still moving...thanks to anyone who replies! I do appreciate it! :)

I have a few questions...is our Janesville GM plant the oldest plant in the company? Are the other idled plants better for transportation to get vehicles in/out of the facility better or worse than Janesville? Are the other idled plants tooled for a smaller car or something similar? I don't know much about automobile manufacturing, as you can probably tell, but I am curious. I do pray for everyone negatively affected by our economy.

Janesville is not on the GM Manufacturing Facilities map, according to this web page:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/06/01/GM.bank...

the caption at the bottom of the map:
Source: General Motors Information accurate as of June 1, 2009

The web page listing Janeesville on standby:
http://media.gm.com/us/gm/en/company/fac...
At the top of that page it states: Latest News GM North America Manufacturing Plants – As of May 2009

The "latest news" link on the May 2009 page jumps to the page: http://media.gm.com/us/gm/en/company/fac... which lists the Orion MI and Spring Hill TN assembly plants and Pontiac MI stamping plant.

Either somebody in GM management might be confused, or Janesville might have been on the standby list in May, but no longer is.

It would be nice if GM came back in some capacity, but given the age of the facility and distance from Michigan, I would be very surprised if they ever do.

One more year for Favre! Oh, wait. wrong story, same cruel drama.

to answer some of the people out there that are saying is done because we are moving equipment out of the building... partially true. we are moving it out because its OLD technology to the janesville plant and new tech to others like arlington. we are on standby as one of three possible plants for the new product and at this time thats all we know. like i said in relation to a previous artical.... guardidly optimistic.

Awesome news

And for spelling people thats spelled the way I want in to, cause I wasn't going to swear for the Janesville cry babies that live in Fantasy Island!That post came from the GM site! Well I'm off go ahead and bah me I have a life, Yada Yada!

Believe what you what!

Igotclout you make it sound like mixing concrete is above you, I will have you know that is a honest living stop and take alook at yourself before you judge others, I was trying to get some attention and I guess it worked.

I hope all you hopefulls realize that it will take a while to get tooled up for cars there....also keep in mind wages and benefits are a thing of the past..they will be lower

http://media.gm.com/us/gm/en/company/fac...
This list's janesville as standby.

I for one hope GM comes back as my son's father had to move cross country to get a job and even though we arent married anymore he still needs to be a dad and right now that isnt happening because there is no work here.

Why is there no mention about Janesville being one of the three being considered a standby on GM's own website? In their press release, there is nothing said about the Janesville plant. I would think that Janesville would be included on the press release. Where is the offical word from GM? I know all about the news links but I would like to see something from GM in a press release.

it won't be at the current location. it will be nearer the interstate.

This is fantastic news. I think we need to hope for the best but continue to prepare for the worst if Janesville is not selected. I would have to think we have a shot...largest plant in the company, outstanding work ethic, competitive labor agreement. Also, I agree, the team of congressional lobbyists has done an outstanding job so far and, hopefully, the new Development Opportunity Zone will help.

Of course this is nowhere near something that can be counted on, but it's quite different from knowing for certain that the plant will be liquidated with no possibility at all. The Wisconsin task force has really put on an unprecedented lobbying effort and that is almost certainly where the credit for this outcome should lie.

Correct Woodsman:) I'm extremely happy pushing a pencil--or moving a mouse! Janesville really does need to move on and concentrate on creating other opportunities. Injecting more false hope just delays this process. There are upwards of 10 more plants that are going to be shut down before the dust settles--plants with newer equipment/buildings that will also be thrown into the mix. Even the Spring Hill facility isn't much more than 20 years old...While it's great to hear that Janesville was mentioned, I seriously hope that people don't reorganize or plan their lives around the plant being opened back up.....

If this is an accurate report then I see the news as very positive for Janesville. Now is the time for Doyle to put on a full court press with GM and make certain Janesville is selected. It wouldn't hurt to review all the road access improvements that have been done these last few years. It wouldn't hurt to also mention the amount of money required to clean up the site if GM never re-opens. The recent news of a $8000 tax credit for each job created is the icing on the cake. Doyle now is your time to make it or break it. Don't screw this baby up.

Thank you Joze. I want GM to come back to Janesville and for the employees to come back. No joke.

momof5, don't discount Spring Hill. They are no longer a "Saturn-only" plant. They are currently building the Chevrolet Traverse there. With the Spring Hill plant being idled, production of the Traverse will more than likely be transferred to the Lansing Delta Township facility with produces the GMC Acadia, Buick Enclave, and Saturn Outlook.

Oh boy. Here we go giving people "false hope" again.......

Moon River............ remain cautiously enthusiastic people. Not overtly optimistic. Damn! There I go using words that are likely to confuse wesgonsin again. Joker although I sense your sarcasm and do not blame you one bit I want to personally thank you for dialing down your rhetoric. It is indeed a great way to start a week. Jobs staying in the US!

I think "jtlis" is correct, It is going to be up to state and local governments to provide the incentives to make Janesville a viable option. Michigan has been at this kind of thing a lot longer than Janesville. Does anyone know what our local "GM task force" has to say about this news?

while I am doubtful that the plant will re-open, I am hopeful that it will. Remember, it ain't over til the fat lady sings

Why is everyone doubting that GM is not coming back to Janesville?

Spring Hill is a Saturn plant. With Saturn up for sale, I would venture to say they are out of the running. I know I know...they are up for "sale" and have already been dropped from GM's restructuring plans. However, most analysts agree that they new buyer will most likely want GM to manufacture the vehicles for them for a time. I suspect Spring Hill isn't at the top of the list. It probably will come down to Janesville and Orion (which I believe is still working as of today...building trucks, I believe). If we had a more business friendly Governor here in Wisconsin, I'd say our chances were 100% over Michigan.
.
Fishbelly: GM Janesville built cars (Impalas), then trucks (Silverado), then cars (Cavaliers), then FULLSIZE SUV's. It is called "RE-tooling" for a reason. (I'm sure I'm missing a few in the product line-up).
.
Danias: any of us, in any combination, could be right. However, just because "they" took out old tooling and automation means NOTHING towards your theory. Obsolete is obsolete. Do you use the same screwdriver to assemble Matchbox cars as you would a semi?? Ok then.
.
Have either Spring Hill or Orion ratified the "new" contract--the new wages?

916 you could not handle the work in a factory,pencil pushing is much easier! Great news for janesburg,at least in the running ,I'M LOVIN IT!!!

It will be great if GM decides that Jnaesville is the right place to build the new small cars. Now all we need is a state government that can give some tax incentives to make it happen. Michigan will do anything to secure the production with incentives.

JUST DROP IT ALREADY, GM IS CLOSED AND IS GOING TO STAY CLOSED. PLEASE PEOPLE MOVE ON. DOES ANYBODY WATCH THE NOON NEWS ANYMORE, GM WENT BANKRUPT THE GOVERNMENT NOW OWNS 60% OF GM AND IS GOING TO LAY OFF 21,000 UNION WORKERS AND CLOSE 12 MORE PLANTS. OPEN YOUR EYES

I think the decision will really be down to Spring Hill or Janesville. I know a couple people that work at Orion and their quality numbers are extremely low. I don't know about Spring Hill's quality numbers though.

Well, I don't think danias was wrong to point out that it isn't in the press release (yet). But the fact is a lot of news organizations are running this from the GM spokesman, so it does seem to be semi-official. The only caveat might be that it was a mistaken identification, as happened last month. It would be nice to see it in writing on GM's site.
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Of course, even then, it's still just one of three plants in the running for capacity that only needs one.

That is pretty goood news. I really hope something works out.

Come on, if you believe the Janesville GM plant will be back running again, then you must be on some good stuff. Please stop all this dreaming and face reality. Move on to the new century and forget about the last one.

danias, did you look at JimP's link to CNN? Are you saying CNN is wrong?

The one thing you don't realize danias. The plants they have listed on your posted website are plants that are still openas of today. The Janesville plant is currently closed. They are just showing what is happening with plants, that as of today were opened for business and producing vehicles.

Well the News Just said Uncle Sam owns 60% of G.M that they are Bankrupt, 21,000 union workers will be laid off and 12 plants closing I think that says it all.

Yeah, their selling off machinery, because in the link you provided new plant is going to be re-tooled. And how would they build small cars on the line designed for SUV's anyway? I'm not saying it's going to happen, but your logic makes no sense at all.

danias,
You need to check your sources. Janesville IS one of the standby assembly plants. It seems you have no idea what the difference between assembly and stamping plants are. This machinery you speak of that was auctioned off at Janesville has no merit to future production of small cars. That machinery and equipment was obsolete and is no longer needed.

danias, your facts are wrong. You need to check other websites. The Gazette has reported the news correctly. Read the post by heed 5379, he works at the Orion facility. I'm not saying this means Janesville is opening again, but since its status has changed from "closed" to "standby", it means there may be a slight glimmer of hope.

danias you better read the link I posted before

Here it is again:

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/arti...

I guess people dont know what the contract states, but it says 1 stamping plant would be on standby, 2 assembly plants on standby, and 1 assembly plant would get the small car. That is a total of 4 plants. Do the math danias!

Great news! Do we know when production will start here in Janesville? Hopefully they will hire everyone back but at a more realistic wage to level the playing field. Since GM is coming back to Janesville, I wonder if Lear and LSI will also be coming back? I hope so. This is a great way to start the week!

localmatters Janesville Is not one of the three excatly the gazette is pipe dreaming!The site I posted is the plants that are all over the news.....Janesville is basically done they are selling all of the inside machinery!!!!

I currently work at the Orion, MI plant and it IS true that Janesville is one of the "standby" locations. The same document was forwarded to me today, but I also listened to the GM broadcast and Janesville's status has been changed from closed to standby. 3 assembly plants and 1 stamping plant have been put on "standby" status.

danias, you need to look closer at your sources. The stamping plant is on stanby as a STAMPING plant. This plant will be the stamping plant for the new vehicle that will be built either in Orion Township, Spring Hill, or Janesville. Since Orion and Spring Hill already do build smaller cars, I would think they have the upper hand in this, however, this news just means that Janesville is not completely dead just yet.

General Motors North America Manufacturing Vice President Tim Lee
Lee said the company is still deciding where it will build its new small car announced last month. The contenders include the Orion, Mich.; Spring Hill, Tenn.; and Janesville, Wis. plants.

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/arti...

danias -- The link you gave says nothing about Janesville as "one of the three". Do you have an updated link?

Hope springs eternal in the human breast:
Man never is, but always to be blest.

http://media.gm.com/servlet/GatewayServl...

Here is the site for PROOF!

Not sure where gazette gets info but they are wrong again! The three standby are assembly plants Orion, Mich and Springhill, Tenn and stamping plant Pontiac, Mich, NOT JANESVILLE!

As I said last week that a big announcement for Janesville was coming, and this is just the first. There are more coming. Just hold on, this will work out for Janesville.

No thanks Woodsman--I'm quite happy with my current job and would be in no rush to leave it for factory work:)

Yep, all the haters may have to eat some crow. This is no guarantee, but it is something.

And "ALL" the haters will be in line for a job!

Well, the press conference that just aired says it all, nobody knows what will happen.....