automobile
A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...
factory owned by
General Motors
The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...
located in
Janesville, Wisconsin
Janesville is a city in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States. It is the county seat and largest city in the county. It is a principal municipality of the Janesville, Wisconsin, Metropolitan Statistical Area and is included in the Madison–Jane ...
. Opened in 1919, it was the oldest operating GM plant when it was largely idled in December 2008, and ceased all remaining production on April 23, 2009. The demolition of the plant began in April 2018.
The plant covers . It employed around 7,000 workers at its peak in 1970, but was down to about 1,200 when it ceased production of GM vehicles in December 2008.
Samson Tractor Division
In 1918, the Samson Tractor division of General Motors was formed from the merger of
Samson Tractor
Samson Tractor was an American brand of tractors 1900 to 1923, of trucks from 1920 to 1923, and a General Motors brand from 1917 to 1923.
History
The Samson Iron Works were founded in Stockton, California and, after becoming known for buildi ...
of California and the Janesville Machine Company, a farm implement manufacturer."Through the years: Chronicling the history of GM in Janesville" , ''Janesville Gazette'', December 22, 2008. Retrieved September 16, 2013. A Samson Tractor Division plant employing 3,000 workers was opened in Janesville in 1919, with the first tractor produced on May 1, 1919.Mike Dupre' "GM has long, rich history in Janesville" , ''Janesville Gazette'', June 3, 2008. Retrieved September 16, 2013. A farm depression that started in 1920 forced Samson to curtail production and lay off more than 1,000 workers. Samson eventually went bankrupt. Although General Motors wanted to abandon the Janesville plant, its general manager, Joseph A. Craig, convinced the company to stay, and in 1920 GM transferred its truck production from
Flint, Michigan
Flint is the largest city and seat of Genesee County, Michigan, United States. Located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the region known as Mid Michigan. At the 2020 census, Flint had a population of 8 ...
to the Janesville plant.
Chevrolet plant
Chevrolet
Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...
began producing automobiles at the plant in 1923. In the same year, an adjacent Fisher Body plant began construction. Production at the factory was halted during the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
for about a year. In 1937 union organizers led a sit-down strike, part of a nationwide series of strikes at GM, which quickly resulted in a national contract. During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the Janesville plants were taken over by General Motors'
Oldsmobile
Oldsmobile or formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it produ ...
Division, and produced
artillery
Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...
.
Production of automobiles resumed following the war. In 1953, a second shift was added to both the Chevrolet and the Fisher Body factories. In April 1967, the 100 millionth GM vehicle was produced at the Chevrolet plant.
In 1969, the Chevrolet and Fisher Body factories joined to form the General Motors Assembly Division. Peak production at the Janesville Assembly occurred in 1977, when there were 7,100 employees, and 274,286 cars and 114,681 trucks were produced.
In the 1980s General Motors moved large car production from Janesville and started making subcompact J-cars, such as the
Chevrolet Cavalier
The Chevrolet Cavalier is a line of compact cars produced by Chevrolet. Serving as the replacement of the Chevrolet Monza, the Cavalier was the second Chevrolet model line to adopt front-wheel drive. Three versions of the Cavalier have been sol ...
. In 1987 the company moved Janesville's pickup line to the
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Censu ...
assembly plant. Local efforts resulted in GM moving medium-duty truck and full-size sport-utility production from plants in Michigan to Janesville. By 1992 it was the only GM plant manufacturing large SUVs. In 2002 GM returned Janesville's medium-duty truck production to Flint, Michigan.
Most recently the Janesville Assembly built full-size
SUVs
A sport utility vehicle (SUV) is a car classification that combines elements of road-going passenger cars with features from off-road vehicles, such as raised ground clearance and four-wheel drive.
There is no commonly agreed-upon definitio ...
. It was one of three plants producing the
GMT900
The GMT900 was a General Motors full-size pickup and SUV platform used for the 2007 to 2014 model years. The platform was introduced at the 2006 North American International Auto Show, as the replacement for the GMT800 platform. The first GMT900 ...
trucks, such as the
Chevrolet Suburban
The Chevrolet Suburban is a series of automobiles built by the Chevrolet division of General Motors. The name started in 1934 for the 1935 U.S. model year, making it the longest continuously used automobile nameplate in production. It has tra ...
. It began building the next-generation short-wheelbase
GMT900
The GMT900 was a General Motors full-size pickup and SUV platform used for the 2007 to 2014 model years. The platform was introduced at the 2006 North American International Auto Show, as the replacement for the GMT800 platform. The first GMT900 ...
trucks in January 2006 and the long-wheelbase GMT900 trucks in March of that year and an overtime shift was added to meet demand. From 1994 until 2009, the plant also produced medium-duty trucks for Isuzu under its partnership with GM.
In 2006, the Janesville GM Assembly plant achieved a milestone of producing more than 500,000 full-size sport utility vehicles with E85 FlexFuel capable engines. The Janesville employees were recognized in a ceremony at the plant that included Wisconsin Governor
Jim Doyle
James Edward Doyle, Jr., (born November 23, 1945) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 44th governor of Wisconsin, serving from January 6, 2003 to January 3, 2011. In his first election to the governorship, he defeated incu ...
(D).
In 2007, discussion of greenhouse gas fuel emissions regulations sparked a dialogue about the future of the Janesville GM plant. That same year United Auto Workers Local 95 participated in a strike at the facility.
Decommissioning
In 2008, fuel prices, the related slow sales of SUVs, and the economy resulted in GM cutting back full-time production at the Janesville plant to a single shift. Combined with an ongoing employee buy-out program, layoffs totaled around 750 jobs in July 2008. During GM's annual shareholder meeting on June 3, 2008, CEO Rick Wagoner announced that the Janesville assembly plant would close by 2010, along with three other GM factories, and could close sooner if the market dictated. The cutbacks announced, along with other changes, were expected to save the North American division $1 billion per year starting in 2010. GM extended its annual summer shutdown an additional two weeks and planned another ten weeks of shutdown for the remainder of 2008 because of excess inventories of SUVs made at the plant.
In October 2008, GM announced that the production of SUVs at the Janesville Assembly would end December 23, 2008. On that day workers gathered at a ceremony with a banner reading "Last Vehicle off the Janesville Assembly Line". The last GM vehicle produced, a black 2009 Chevrolet Tahoe, was donated to the United Way of North Rock County, which raffled the vehicle off.
57 production employees continued assembly work at the Janesville Assembly until April 23, 2009, completing the GM/Isuzu light truck partnership and then an additional 40 to 50 "skilled trade employees" worked to decommission the plant.
2015 and beyond
General Motors placed the factory on standby until at least 2015 when the company and employee unions negotiate a new contract. The factory was one of three — along with
Orion Assembly
Orion Assembly is a General Motors vehicle assembly plant located in Orion Township, Michigan. The plant currently assembles the Chevrolet Bolt and Cruise AV. As of September 2019, the plant has approximately 1,032 salaried and hourly employees ...
and
Spring Hill Manufacturing
Spring Hill Manufacturing is a General Motors factory in Spring Hill, Tennessee. The plant currently includes vehicle assembly ( Cadillac Lyriq, Cadillac XT5, Cadillac XT6, and GMC Acadia) as well as powertrain, stamping and molding operations. T ...
- that General Motors kept on standby during their bankruptcy. It was the only one still on standby status in 2014. The factory can only be completely closed by agreement of both General Motors and the
United Automobile Workers
The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, better known as the United Auto Workers (UAW), is an American labor union that represents workers in the United States (including Puerto Rico) ...
.
As of January 2016, GM had signed a new contract with the United Auto Workers that cleared the way for selling the Janesville plant. Water or ground contamination on the north and south sides of the plant have delayed the sale of the plant. GM was working with the
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) is a government agency of the U.S. state of Wisconsin charged with conserving and managing Wisconsin's natural resources. The Wisconsin Natural Resources Board has the authority to set policy ...
to clean up that area. As of February 2016, GM was working with
CBRE Group
CBRE Group, Inc. is an American commercial real estate services and investment firm. The abbreviation CBRE stands for Coldwell Banker Richard Ellis. It is the world's largest commercial real estate services and investment firm (based on 2021 reven ...
of Los Angeles to market the 250 acre site (excluding the contaminated area on the north side of the site) on a global market, hoping to have a buyer by 2017.
Demolition of the plant began in 2018.
Former products
*
Samson Tractor
Samson Tractor was an American brand of tractors 1900 to 1923, of trucks from 1920 to 1923, and a General Motors brand from 1917 to 1923.
History
The Samson Iron Works were founded in Stockton, California and, after becoming known for buildi ...
(1919-1923)
*
Artillery
Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...
(
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
)
*
Cadillac Cimarron
The Cadillac Cimarron is an entry-level luxury car manufactured and marketed by the Cadillac division of General Motors for model years 1982–1988 over a single generation, with a mild facelift in 1985.
The first post-war compact car offered ...
*
Chevrolet Cavalier
The Chevrolet Cavalier is a line of compact cars produced by Chevrolet. Serving as the replacement of the Chevrolet Monza, the Cavalier was the second Chevrolet model line to adopt front-wheel drive. Three versions of the Cavalier have been sol ...
*
Chevrolet Suburban
The Chevrolet Suburban is a series of automobiles built by the Chevrolet division of General Motors. The name started in 1934 for the 1935 U.S. model year, making it the longest continuously used automobile nameplate in production. It has tra ...
*
Chevrolet Tahoe
The Chevrolet Tahoe, and its badge engineered GMC Yukon counterpart, are full-size SUVs from General Motors, offered since 1994 and 1991, respectively. Since 1982, Chevrolet and GMC sold two different-sized SUVs under their 'Blazer' and 'Jimmy ...
GMC Suburban
GMC may refer to:
Government India
* Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation, in Gujarat
* Gobichettipalayam Municipal Corporation, in Tamil Nadu
* Guntur Municipal Corporation, in Andhra Pradesh
* Guwahati Municipal Corporation, in Assam
* Gwalior ...
*
GMC Yukon
GMC may refer to:
Government India
* Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation, in Gujarat
* Gobichettipalayam Municipal Corporation, in Tamil Nadu
* Guntur Municipal Corporation, in Andhra Pradesh
* Guwahati Municipal Corporation, in Assam
* Gwalior ...
*
GMC Yukon XL
GMC may refer to:
Government India
* Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation, in Gujarat
* Gobichettipalayam Municipal Corporation, in Tamil Nadu
* Guntur Municipal Corporation, in Andhra Pradesh
* Guwahati Municipal Corporation, in Assam
* Gwalior ...
*
Chevrolet 210
The Chevrolet 210 or Two-Ten is a midrange car from Chevrolet that was marketed from 1953 until 1957. It took its name by shortening the production series number 2100 by one digit in order to capitalize on the 1950s trend toward numerical auto na ...
*
Chevrolet 150
The Chevrolet One-Fifty (or 150) was the economy/fleet model of the Chevrolet car from 1953 until 1957. It took its name by shortening the production series number (1500) by one digit in order to capitalize on the numerical auto name trend of the ...
*
Chevrolet Impala
The Chevrolet Impala () is a full-size car built by Chevrolet for model years 1958 to 1985, 1994 to 1996, and 2000 to 2020. The Impala was Chevrolet's popular flagship passenger car and was among the better-selling American-made automobiles in ...
*
Chevrolet Bel Air
The Chevrolet Bel Air is a full-size car produced by Chevrolet for the 1950–1975 model years. Initially, only the two-door hardtops in the Chevrolet model range were designated with the Bel Air name from 1950 to 1952. With the 1953 model year, ...
*
Chevrolet Caprice
The Chevrolet Caprice is a full-sized automobile produced by Chevrolet in North America for the 1965 to 1996 model years. Full-size Chevrolet sales peaked in 1965 with over a million sold. It was the most popular car in the U.S. in the 1960s ...
*
Chevrolet Biscayne
The Chevrolet Biscayne was a series of full-size cars produced by the American manufacturer Chevrolet between 1958 and 1975. Named after a show car displayed at the 1955 General Motors Motorama, the Biscayne was the least expensive model in the C ...
*
Chevrolet Del Ray
The Chevrolet Delray, named after the Delray neighborhood of Detroit, Michigan, debuted in 1954 as an optional trim level on two-door models of Chevrolet's mid-range Chevrolet 210, 210 series of cars. In 1958, it became a distinct series of its ow ...
*
Chevrolet Full Size Station Wagons
Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an Automotive industry in the United States, American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM ...
Buick Skyhawk
The Buick Skyhawk is an automobile produced by Buick in two generations for the 1975 through 1989 model years.
The first generation (1975-1980) were two-door hatchbacks using the subcompact, rear-wheel drive H-body platform, a badge engineered ...
*
GMC Topkick
GMC may refer to:
Government India
* Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation, in Gujarat
* Gobichettipalayam Municipal Corporation, in Tamil Nadu
* Guntur Municipal Corporation, in Andhra Pradesh
* Guwahati Municipal Corporation, in Assam
* Gwalior Mu ...
*
Chevrolet Kodiak
The Chevrolet Kodiak and GMC TopKick are a range of medium duty trucks that were produced by the Chevrolet and GMC divisions of General Motors from 1980 to 2009. Introduced as a variant of the medium-duty C/K truck line, three generations were ...