UPDATE 1-GM to close Wisconsin SUV plant by year-end

DETROIT, Oct 13 (Reuters) - General Motors Corp (GM.N: ) said on Monday it would close its Janesville, Wisconsin, assembly plant by year-end in response to slumping demand for the full-size SUVs it manufactures. GM had previously said it would close the Janesville plant by 2010, but a spokesman said the sharp drop in SUV sales through September had forced it to act sooner. The plant employs about 1,200 hourly workers represented by the United Auto Workers and assembles GM's Yukon and Suburban SUV models. The plant will shut down operations on Dec. 23. In a related move, GM announced earlier this month that it would also close an SUV plant in Ohio by the end of the year, cutting about 1,200 jobs, most of them hourly workers. GM builds the Chevrolet TrailBlazer, GMC Envoy and Saab 9-7X SUVs at the plant in Moraine, Ohio. In... [read full story]