LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan continued to watch its once-proud auto legacy crumble Monday as it learned it would be taking the brunt of the job cuts as General Motors Corp. heads into bankruptcy.
Half of the 14 facilities GM plans to close or put on standby between now and the end of 2010 are in Michigan, affecting around 8,640 jobs. Michigan has the nation's highest unemployment rate at 12.9 percent, and at least half a million workers already are receiving unemployment benefits in the state.
In contrast, only about 5,500 workers in eight other states — Tennessee, Delaware, Indiana, Ohio, Virginia, New York, Massachusetts and Florida — will be affected as seven other GM plants are closed or placed on standby. Three of those states will lose fewer than 70 jobs.
"Because we are turning a new page, we have to do what we do best in Michigan, which is to work hard at building not just the new General Motors and the new Chrysler, but the new Michigan," Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm said at a Monday news conference. "We are not going to throw in the towel. These are tough times, but we're pretty tough ourselves."
In Michigan, GM plans to shutter a truck assembly plant in Pontiac by October and close engine and transmission plants next year in Flint, Livonia and Ypsilanti Township. A Grand Rapids stamping plant will close this month.
Oakland County's Orion Township assembly plant will be placed on standby starting in September, and a stamping plant in Pontiac will be idled in December 2010.
Michigan has lost nearly half its manufacturing jobs since they hit a peak in mid-2000, a loss of 438,000 positions. Most of those are tied to the automotive industry, which will continue to shrink as automakers, suppliers and dealers cut back or go out of business.
State services also have suffered as the industry's plight has helped cause huge shortfalls in state revenues, forcing cuts in everything from state trooper strength to money for horse racing purses.
Hundred of people gathered on the lawn of the state Capitol in Lansing Monday for a noon "Reinvest in America" rally with the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Democratic Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow and mayors from several Michigan cities affected by the auto industry turndown.
Many there said the misery is far broader than just the bad news from GM. Laid-off steelworkers and employees in limbo at a Chrysler factory in Sterling Heights also rallied for better job protections.
"They're closing us, but they're keeping open a Mexican plant and a Canadian plant," said Yolanda Mallett, a worker at a Chrysler factory in Sterling Heights that's expected to close in 2010. "Our tax dollars went toward this process. We feel that is wrong."
And Detroit Mayor Dave Bing, talking to reporters in the Motor City, called GM's bankruptcy announcement a tough situation for the company and its workers.
"It's a sad day for General Motors, a sad day for the city of Detroit and those families who are going to be negatively impacted by what occured today," Bing said.
Some GM workers already are on extended layoffs as the automaker trims production because of lower sales. And auto suppliers are increasingly sliding into bankruptcy as all auto companies — foreign and domestic — struggle to lure reluctant buyers into their showrooms.
A few bright spots did emerge as GM laid out its consolidation plans. GM will begin building the Chevrolet Traverse crossover SUV at GM's Delta Township plant just west of Lansing, where the popular Buick Enclave, Saturn Outlook and GMC Acadia are made. The Traverse now is assembled in Spring Hill, Tenn.
And the Michigan plant in Orion Township, north of Detroit, that was placed on standby because GM is phasing out production of the Pontiac brand could be in line to produce some other model down the road, including subcompact cars whose production GM is moving from South Korea to the United States. About 3,190 workers now produce the Pontiac G6 at that plant.
Granholm said Michigan is fighting to land 1,200 new jobs to produce 160,000 small cars a year. The automaker has not yet said where it will build the car.
"We want to have that work in Michigan, and we're going to be aggressive about going after it," said Granholm, who is not focused just on getting more automotive jobs.
She told President Barack Obama in a phone call Sunday night that Michigan needs federal help steering its economy toward more green jobs.
"We have asked that Michigan be viewed as sort of a pilot of how you can transform an economy from a Rust Belt to a Green Belt," the Democratic governor said.
U.S. Rep. John Dingell, D-Dearborn, a longtime auto industry advocate, also said Michigan needs help weathering the meltdown.
"GM employees — white- and blue-collar — suppliers, dealers, and auto communities will be hit hard by this process," he said in a release. "Now more than ever, we need to come together to develop and enhance training programs for our displaced workers so that they get back into the work force quickly."
Dearborn-based Ford Motor Co. has not asked for government bailouts and doesn't face the prospect of bankruptcy, another plus for Michigan. Despite the domestic automakers' troubles, some say there's still good times ahead as the new wave of electric hybrids such as the Chevrolet Volt get closer to production.
Christina Bristow, regional operations manager in Jackson for Swiss-based staffing company Adecco SA, said people are taking advantage of retraining as they search for other jobs. Many also are resigned to taking jobs that pay far less than they're making now.
"We've seen a big drop in the jobs we have available, just because that's how the economy is in our state," Bristow said. "People are truly very concerned about what the future is going to look like, and just willing to do anything to get back into the job market."
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Associated Press Writer Tim Martin in Lansing and Corey Williams in Detroit contributed to this report.
