SMRYNA, Tenn. - At least one General Motors dealer in Middle Tennessee has been notified their franchise will be terminated.
Chuck Hanes at Team Chevrolet of Smyrna said a letter arrived at the dealership Friday morning stating GM will not renew its franchise agreement with the dealer, effective October 2010.
The dealer is said to be one of 1,100 nationwide to have their franchises terminated late next year.
A GM spokeswoman said the company will not release the list of dealers, leaving the decision to release information to individual business owners.
In Smyrna, Hanes told News 2 he wasn't all that surprised.
Team Chevrolet, he believes, was an easy target.
The dealership is in bankruptcy and hasn't sold a single car all year.
"If somebody is just drawing a line, then we would have certainly come up on the wrong side of that line," he said.
Hanes said Team Chevrolet has no plans of closing and employees will get to keep their jobs.
He said the dealership will likely be turned into a pre-owned center.
"We can go into auto auctions all over the country, buy cars, ship them in here, check them out thoroughly and deliver the car," said Hanes.
Team Chevrolet has been open in Smyrna for 60 years.
GM's dealer cuts are part of the company's plan announced last month to cut more than 2,600 dealers by 2010.
The remaining cuts will come from closed Saturn and Hummer dealers, along with 400 dealers that the company expects will close voluntarily. Another 500 would be consolidated into other dealerships.
GM's action Friday comes just one day after Chrysler announced it will drop 789 of its roughly 3,200 dealers.
Both companies have too many dealerships for too few sales and are slashing costs as they restructure.
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- Nov. 18, 2008: Automakers plead for $25 billion lifeline
- Nov. 7, 2008: Spring Hill avoids GM layoffs, for the most part
