GM to Idle Two U.S. Plants to Cut Inventories

General Motors Co. plans to suspend production for five weeks at two Midwest car plants to help adjust inventories, according to The Detroit News.

The newspaper says GM will idle its Lordstown (Ohio) factory, which makes the Chevrolet Cruze small sedan, between June 19 and July 2. The company also will suspend production at its Fairfax (Kan.) plant, home of the Chevy Malibu midsize sedan starting in late June.

Early this month GM dropped one of two production shifts at its transmission plant in Warren, Mich., citing a downturn in demand for cars that use its gearboxes.

GM, which declined to comment on the two new closures, had a 101-day supply of unsold vehicles in the U.S. at the end of May, the News says. A 60-day supply is considered normal. GM has said it intends to reduce its overall inventory to less than 75 days by the end of 2017.