Timeout: General Motors Pausing Pickup Production For Lions v 49ers Playoff Game
The late shift will be coming in late at the General Motors Flint Assembly plant in Michigan on Sunday.
The automaker has delayed the start of the third shift by an hour so that Detroit Lions fans on the staff can watch team play in the NFC Conference Championships game against the 49ers in San Francisco.
The game marks the first time since 1992 that the Lions have made it to the conference final.
The factory builds Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra heavy duty pickups.
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The game starts at 6:30 p.m. Detroit time and work is now scheduled to start at 10:42 p.m. in the paint and body shop and 11 p.m. on the assembly line, cutting an hour off the normal nine-hour workday. A typical NFL game takes less than 3.5 hours to complete.
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“We recognize the Detroit Lions playing in an NFC Championship game as a rare, unique opportunity that warrants this temporary schedule adjustment to allow employees to enjoy the game and to make it to work on time,” GM said in an alert sent to staff.
According to the Detroit Free Press, the factory is the only one in the Detroit area that runs a third shift on Sunday. Workers won’t be paid for the lost hour, but a UAW representative said the union is happy with the move.
“They don’t want to work it anyhow, so no one is complaining about losing the hour’s pay,” UAW Local 598 Shop Chairman Eric Welter told the outlet.
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“It’s not an hour of their regular 40 hours, it’s their overtime, so they’ll make it up somewhere else.”
A Stellantis spokeswoman told the newspaper that the company doesn’t have an plans to change its schedules, while Ford has not made any comment or announcements.
The Lions are majority owned by Sheila Ford Hamp, who is the great-granddaughter of Henry Ford.
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