Assembly lines were already slowed for both small cars in January as gasoline hovered around $2 per gallon across most of the US. Fuel prices have since bounced back to an average of around $2.75, according to GasBuddy, however sales of the Sonic and Verano have not completely recovered.
The Sonic achieved a modest three-percent gain for the month of May, but numbers are still down by nearly 29 percent for the first five months of the year. Verano shipments slid by approximately 15 percent during the same periods.
GM’s winter production slowdown is said to have succeeded in reducing inflated inventories, but output at the Orion Assembly Plant is still too high for sustained lackluster sales. The company is consequently preparing to make an additional adjustment “to better align with market demand,” according to a statement published by Automotive News.
The Detroit-area factory is expected to lay off approximately 100 additional workers between next month and the end of the year, while summer shutdown will be extended by an extra week.
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