Tagged: automobile industry

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) - A federal judge says General Motors workers in northeast Ohio can move forward with a lawsuit against the automaker and the United Auto Workers.

The union's request to dismiss the lawsuit was turned down late last week.

Nearly 30 workers at GM's Lordstown factory say they were improperly classified as temporary employees after losing their jobs and then being rehired.

They say the change in classification cut their pay by more than 40 percent and are seeking back pay of $3 million to $4 million.

A local union official at the Lordstown plant where GM makes the Chevy Cruze has said that the workers weren't misrepresented.

Both the union and the company have denied the allegations in court documents.

In mid-September, General Motors will temporarily close the Detroit-Hamtramck plant that makes the Chevrolet Volt for about a month.

A credit reporting agency says the rate of overdue auto loans is at the lowest rate in more than ten years.

TransUnion says the rate of U.S. auto loan payments at least 60 days overdue fell in the second quarter to 0.33 percent. That's down about 25 percent from the same period last year and 8 percent from the first three months of this year.

Michigan is well below the national average, with 0.21 percent of borrowers delinquent on their car loans.

DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) - Ford Motor Co. says its net income fell by 57 percent to $1 billion in the second quarter as losses in Europe and Asia mounted.

The company lowered its full-year profit forecast. Ford still expects a strong operating profit, but it will be lower than 2011. Previously the company had expected to make about the same amount.