SPRING HILL, Tenn. - The Spring Hill GM plant is set to go idle after GM declared bankruptcy Monday morning.
Spring Hill Mayor Mike Dinwiddie said the idle means there is a possibility of the plant getting another vehicle in the future but still leaves uncertainty and the timeline is unknown.
"It is not the best news that we could have got but it could have been worse," Dinwiddie said. "So, the fact that we're idled means that there is some hope for us. Now when does that happen, we don't know."
According to Dinwiddie, Spring Hill's community is thriving right now, but much of it was spurred by the plant. In the past five to 10 years, however, he said much of that growth came from outside the plant.
Dinwiddie is also optimistic about the plant, even if GM were to leave it.
"Secondly, that plant is such an advanced plant, such a modern plant that I don't think that it's going to be idle forever," Dinwiddie said. "Even if GM were to walk away from that plant all together, I do think there is another company out there that would love to have the plant in its inventory."
Seventeen plants were part of the GM decision Monday, 14 of those plants were closed and three were idled.
Spring Hill has idled before in 2005.
Dinwiddie said on an emotional standpoint, the idle was hard on the community and it will be again with the approaching idle.
However, he said the sales tax revenue in 2005 did not show any kind of a decrease but that is could have been from factors outside the GM plant.
"We were bringing on other companies like Lowe's and Home Depot and Publix and things like that, so people were shopping in town more than going outside of town to spend their money," Dinwiddie said. "It is going to be hard to predict this one."
The Spring Hill plant will halt production in November 2009.
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