Corvette Assembly Plant is On Track to Return to Work on December 20th

We got some great news from the Corvette Assembly Plant this afternoon as it looks like production will be returning much quicker than originally feared.

We reached out again to Chevy representatives at the assembly plant with several questions today regarding the news that customers were being notified if there was damage to their Corvettes. As the Corvette Action Center revealed this morning, approximately 115 Corvettes inside the plant were damaged from the passing tornado.

While they didn’t confirm the number of Corvette’s damaged, they did provide this official statement on how Chevrolet is handling the reordering process:

If a customer’s order was impacted by the storm, the customer will be contacted by their dealer and their order will be prioritized and re-sequenced back into production, with an expected production date as quickly as possible after the plant resumes normal operations.

Over the last couple of days we’ve shared some photos from the plant including one which shows the specific damage to the roof. But the unbelievable news from Bowling Green is that we may see the plant restart operations as soon as Monday, December 20th. Here is the latest update from Chevrolet on the assembly plant’s repairs:

“A safe restart of Bowling Green Assembly is our top priority, along with ensuring production of the highest quality vehicles for our customers. Thanks to the incredible efforts of our employees at the plant – coupled with the additional assistance from other GM manufacturing locations — restoration efforts of the facility have quickly progressed this week, and Bowling Green Assembly is on track for a cadenced return to work starting Monday, Dec. 20.”

This is very positive news for Corvette enthusiasts as well as the plant workers who build our cars. The key words here are “cadenced return” which suggests a ramp-up to full two-shift production. If that is the case and everything goes well, then we’ll have only missed five full days of production or roughly 900 cars which can be made up before the end of the model year if GM so chooses.

Plus, here is this from the Detroit Free Press:

GM laid off all 1,200 of those on the assembly line for the entire week as it idled the plant to assess damage and make repairs. About 90 skilled trades workers remained on the job, said Jason Watson, shop chairman for UAW Local 2164. Local 2164 represents the hourly workers at Bowling Green Assembly located about an hour north of Nashville, Tennessee.

On Thursday GM informed employees at Bowling Green that the plant is on track for a “cadenced return” to work starting Monday. That means only certain workers from departments return then. The entire workforce will return Tuesday.

“A safe restart of Bowling Green Assembly is our top priority, along with ensuring production of the highest quality vehicles for our customers,” said GM spokesman David Barnas. “Thanks to the incredible efforts of our employees at the plant — coupled with the additional assistance from other GM manufacturing locations — restoration efforts of the facility have quickly progressed this week.”

Barnas declined to disclose the cost to repair the damage to the facility. But he said collaboration among teams from other GM plants allowed Bowling Green leaders to form a recovery plan to resume plant operations quickly.

Source:
Chevrolet.com

Related:
Approximately 115 Corvettes Damaged at the Plant Due to the Tornado Strike, Dealers Notifying Affected Customers
[PIC] Here is the Roof Damage at the Corvette Assembly Plant
[VIDEO] Corvette Assembly Plant Catches Fire After EF-2 Tornado Strikes Bowling Green Overnight