General Motors will lay off nearly 1,000 factory workers at its Linden, N.J. truck plant. The layoff was pushed up from summer 2005 after GM made the decision to end production of the Chevy Blazer due to increased competition in the S.U.V. market. A labor union contract prevents GM from closing the Linden plant completely until 2007.
See "G.M. Plans Layoffs at Truck Plant in Linden", Jeffrey Gettleman and Danny Hakim, The New York Times, November 30, 2004