Auto closures threaten Del.’s economy

The auto industry has dealt tiny Delaware a big blow.

Next month, the first state will watch its last auto plant shut down.

General Motors said Monday that Wilmington’s Boxwood Road assembly plant, which makes the Pontiac Solstice, Saturn Sky and Opel Roadster sports cars, will close at the end of July.

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Once-mighty GM, which filed for bankruptcy protection Monday, also said it would close eight other U.S. plants and idle three others to slash production and cut labor costs. The GM powertrain plant in Spotsylvania County, Va., will close at the end of next year, and a portion of its production will move to GM’s Powertrain Baltimore Transmission plant in White Marsh, Md.

Chrysler’s Newark, Del., assembly plant, which built the Dodge Durango and Chrysler Aspen, closed Dec. 31. At their peaks, Delaware’s GM and Chrysler plants employed nearly 10,000 workers. Chrysler has been in bankruptcy since April 30.

“This is a big hit,” said Alan Levin, director of the Delaware Economic Development Office. Chrysler’s plant opened in 1942, building tanks during World War II. GM’s plant opened in 1947.

The direct and indirect effects of the plant closings could cost the state’s economy about $350 million, from direct and indirect effects, he said. When the Chrysler plant closed, it had 1,100 employees. GM’s Boxwood plant has about 1,000 workers, too.

“On a state with a budget of $3.2 billion, that’s a sizable chunk,” Mr. Levin said.

Around the country, people affected by the plant closings reacted with dismay.

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