Bowling Green GM Plant Will Temporarily Shut Down to Prepare for New Corvette Production

The Bowling Green General Motors plant is temporarily shutting down later this year to prepare for the production of the next generation Corvette.

The facility will temporarily lay off employees while the changes are being made.

A spokeswoman for the plant said a decision on the exact dates and length of the shutdown hasn’t been made, but that it would likely cover parts of the summer and fall.

The plant employees about 840 hourly workers, along with 165 salaried individuals. The spokeswoman said some employees will be asked to work through the temporary shutdown, with the plant making those decisions based on the facility’s needs.

The Corvette plant is temporarily halting production to install new equipment and make changes to its vehicle production process.

The Bowling Green plant will begin production on the 2018 Corvette once it reopens following the shutdown.

The General Motors Bowling Green Assembly plant is scheduling an extended shutdown later this year, officials said Monday.

The shutdown comes as the plant employees make the conversation to new facilities and the eventual building of the 7th Generation 2018 Chevrolet Corvette by United Auto Workers 2164 employees.

Employees received word of the planned shutdown Monday, said Lauren Langille, plant communications manager for General Motors Bowling Green Assembly & Spring Hill Manufacturing plants.

Langille said the shutdown is intended to possibly occur sometime during the third and fourth quarters of 2017. Length of the shutdown was not disclosed.

The extended shutdown is for equipment installation, setting up the new car build process for the 7th Generation 2018 Corvette and finishing construction of the nearly half-billion dollar paint shop announced in 2015.

"Once the facility resumes (production), we will go about building the 7th Generation Chevrolet Corvette," Langille ssid.

The exact date when the shutdown begins also has not been decided, she said.

A comment on the National Corvette Museum Facebook page on Monday does shed some light on a possible shutdown date.

"Tours at the Bowling Green Assembly Plant will be closed starting June 16, 2017 due to the 2018 model year changeover. We do not have additional details about when tours will resume," reads the Facebook post made Monday afternoon.

The shutdown of tours doesn't necessarily equate to shutdown of the plant.

Langille also said employment levels at the plant once production resumes "will be similar" to those prior to the shutdown.

The Bowling Green plant employs about 1,000 workers, including 118 workers in October. Employees work on one shift to manufacture the Corvette. There is also an engine-build facility. Work also continues on the construction of a new paint shop. Improvements to the local GM plant total about three-quarters of a billion dollars in recent years.

There was a one week shutdown in early January at the Bowling Green plant that had already been publicized. The Jan. 1 to Jan. 6 shutdown was for the holidays, for maintenance needs and also for construction done on the paint shop.

UAW workers were aware of the more major shutdown decision announced Monday by the company.

A spokesman for UAW Local 2164 did not immediately return a telephone message.

The UAW Region 8 office referred questions to the UAW main office in Detroit.

The union agreement with GM set in place in October 2015 covers four years.

In the agreement there are details that outline how workers are paid during an extended shutdown.

The company has and is pouring billions of dollars into its plants in North America, including for improvements at the Bowling Green plant.

The General Motors Bowling Green Assembly plant is scheduling an extended shutdown later this year, officials said Monday.

The shutdown comes as the plant employees make the conversation to new facilities and the eventual building of the 7th Generation 2018 Chevrolet Corvette by United Auto Workers 2164 employees.

Employees received word of the planned shutdown Monday, said Lauren Langille, plant communications manager for General Motors Bowling Green Assembly & Spring Hill Manufacturing plants.

Langille said the shutdown is intended to possibly occur sometime during the third and fourth quarters of 2017. Length of the shutdown was not disclosed.

The extended shutdown is for equipment installation, setting up the new car build process for the 7th Generation 2018 Corvette and finishing construction of the nearly half-billion dollar paint shop announced in 2015.

"Once the facility resumes (production), we will go about building the 7th Generation Chevrolet Corvette," Langille ssid.

The exact date when the shutdown begins also has not been decided, she said.

A comment on the National Corvette Museum Facebook page on Monday does shed some light on a possible shutdown date.

"Tours at the Bowling Green Assembly Plant will be closed starting June 16, 2017 due to the 2018 model year changeover. We do not have additional details about when tours will resume," reads the Facebook post made Monday afternoon.

The shutdown of tours doesn't necessarily equate to shutdown of the plant.

Langille also said employment levels at the plant once production resumes "will be similar" to those prior to the shutdown.

The Bowling Green plant employs about 1,000 workers, including 118 workers in October. Employees work on one shift to manufacture the Corvette. There is also an engine-build facility. Work also continues on the construction of a new paint shop. Improvements to the local GM plant total about three-quarters of a billion dollars in recent years.

There was a one week shutdown in early January at the Bowling Green plant that had already been publicized. The Jan. 1 to Jan. 6 shutdown was for the holidays, for maintenance needs and also for construction done on the paint shop.

UAW workers were aware of the more major shutdown decision announced Monday by the company.

A spokesman for UAW Local 2164 did not immediately return a telephone message.

The UAW Region 8 office referred questions to the UAW main office in Detroit.

The union agreement with GM set in place in October 2015 covers four years.

In the agreement there are details that outline how workers are paid during an extended shutdown.

The company has and is pouring billions of dollars into its plants in North America, including for improvements at the Bowling Green plant.