GM Shedding 160 Workers from Indiana Semiconductor Plant

American automaker General Motors issued a statement outlining plans to cut the number of workers at its Kokomo, IN by 160 following an announcement that the company plans to stop making semiconductors at the site by mid-2017, the Associated Press reported.

The decision will impact about 100 hourly and 60 salaried workers, the AP said. After the layoffs, the total number of workers at the Kokomo facility will be about 600, according to the Kokomo Tribune.

The company decided to shut down the plant because the production of semiconductors is not profitable, a plant communications manager for GM, Kevin Nadrowski, told the Tribune. The expense of replacing aging equipment and other production technology is another factor.

“The bottom line is it’s not a core business element for GM anymore in this area,” said Nadrowski in the paper. “The technology is old, the equipment is old, and it would be cost-prohibitive to invest in any new equipment.”

While the plant will no longer continue to produce semiconductors, production of integrated circuits, airbag control modules, engine control modules, and other parts will continue at the site, the paper reported.

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