General Motors (GM) has narrowed down the locations where it will build a new small car to three existing GM facilities: Orion Township, Michigan; Spring Hill, Tennessee; and Janesville, Wisconsin. In a company statement, GM says that all three plants are currently on "standby" status, meaning that employees could be called back to work; Michigan and Tennessee are set to end production in the fall, while the Wisconsin plant closed this past April. The Associated Press (AP) reports that officials from all three states are in Washington, D.C., for meetings with GM officials to discuss selection criteria. "Part of the reason we're here is we want to get on with doing this as quickly as we can," says Troy Clarke, president of GM's North American operations, quoted by AP, "so I can tell you it's a decision that's made in weeks, not months." GM announced on May 29 that it would build a fuel-efficient car in the United States at an existing plant that, when re-tooled, will be capable of producing 160,000 cars annually; AP reports that GM originally planned to build the car in China but shifted production back to the United States as a concession to the United Auto Workers union. The company says it hopes to make the location decision within the next few weeks. GM has been operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection since June 1.
