GM recalls laid-off workers, hires temps for Moraine, Ohio, plant

MORAINE, Ohio (AP) — General Motors Corp. has hired some 450 temporary workers and recalled workers laid off earlier this year for the Moraine plant it has slated for closure.

The more than 770 workers who accepted a buyout or took retirement were working their last day Friday at the southwest Ohio plant, which makes sport-utility vehicles and employs some 2,400 hourly workers.

GM spokeswoman Jessica Peck didn’t immediately have a total Friday for workers returning from layoffs to active duty at the plant. The 450 temporary workers also hired include workers facing layoffs at the nearby DMAX plant, which is a GM-Isuzu joint venture that makes diesel engines; former temporary workers at this plant, and newly hired temporary workers.

GM recently announced plans to close the Moraine plant in 2010, or sooner if needed. The plant makes Trailblazers and GMC Envoys, among the bigger GM vehicles with plummeting sales because of soaring gas prices.

The GM plant in Moraine, along with other GM facilities, will begin a scheduled shutdown on Saturday to last through July 14.

After the summer break, there will be intensive training, followed July 21 by a resumption of normal production in two eight-hour shifts, Peck said.