GM Braces for More Strike-Related Shutdowns

General Motors Corp. planned to idle one assembly plant and was bracing for more shutdowns today after workers struck a key transmission and wheel plant in the sixth walkout against the auto maker this year. GM spokesman Tom Klipstine said the strike at the GM powertrain division plant in Warren, Mich., would force the nation’s largest auto maker to idle 2,700 workers at its Buick City plant in Flint, Mich., starting today. Buick City produces GM’s large Buick LeSabre and Pontiac Bonneville sedans, which are equipped with the four-speed, front-drive automatic transmissions built at the strikebound Warren plant. A sister large-car plant in Orion Township, Mich., is expected to shut down later today. The roughly 2,800 hourly workers at the Warren plant walked off their jobs after a strike deadline expired Tuesday. A second strike at a tail-light plant in Anderson, Ind., was narrowly averted when bargainers for Detroit-based GM and the United Auto Workers reached a tentative deal for a new local contract. Talks continued at the Warren plant. A prolonged strike could force a number of GM car and truck assembly plants to shut down. GM shares rose $1.25 to close at $59 on the NYSE.