GM Asks Court to Dismiss UAW Lawsuit Over Plant Closures

General Motors Co. has asked a federal judge in Detroit to dismiss a lawsuit that claims the company’s plan to close four U.S. factories violates labor agreements.

The lawsuit was filed in February by the United Auto Workers. The complaint followed GM’s announcement that it will close two assembly plants in Ohio and Michigan and two component factories in Maryland and Michigan.

The union bases its lawsuit on GM’s pledge in 2015 that it would not “close, idle, or partially or wholly sell, spin off, split off, consolidate or otherwise dispose” of any plant during the four-year term its labor agreement with the UAW.

But the pledge includes the stipulation that a shift in conditions—such as slumping demand for the products being made—could make the commitment “impossible” to meet. When it announced the closures, GM noted a sharp market shift away from the cars and parts made by the targeted facilities.

GM also asserts that the UAW lawsuit must be dismissed because their contract also prohibits the union from suing until it has exhausted the grievance resolution process described in the agreement. GM notes that two such grievances are pending about the plant closures.