More job cuts at General Motors Corp.

DETROIT (WJRT) -- (04/20/09)--General Motors Corp. is laying off hundreds of white-collar workers in Michigan this week as the automaker continues to expand in China.

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The bulk of the cuts will come from several facilities in southeast Michigan, including the Grand Blanc Service Parts Operation.

A GM spokesman says the layoffs will happen through Wednesday. The news is hitting home for both current workers and those who have seen this before.

"I know what is it for a plant closing and it's not a pretty sight," said GM retiree Deborah Holmes.

As an operations supervisor at GM's old Fisher Body plant, Holmes knows how tough cuts can be.

She says she isn't happy about news that the automaker is slashing 1,600 white-collar jobs this week as it struggles to cut costs before a June 1 deadline.

"There's not a difference in the white-collar worker or a blue-collar worker. They're our workers. Because when you close the door, we all go together," Holmes said.

Despite these cuts in the U.S., the automaker is revving up in China. At the Shanghai Auto Show this week, GM executives say the company plans to grow 5 to 10 percent this year.

"There's certainly a public relations aspect that's very important," said Kettering University Prof. Andy Borchers. "It's the best news they have to tell and so certainly they're going to talk about it."

Borchers says he's not surprised GM is aiming to double sales in China within the next five years, whether it files for bankruptcy or not.

"They've got to grow wherever they can and hope that it can help offset what they're losing here," Borchers said.

That may be good public relations move over there, but not at Flint's Brennan Community Center.

"If you're going to cut workers here and you're going to add over there, you're putting all your money overseas," said GM retiree Ron Watkins.

"I think they should have operations here in the United States because in the United States, I believe, more people here, more cars than anywhere else in the world," GM retiree Norman Graham said.

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