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Highlights the efforts of Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo to oppose lay offs at Pfizer based in the area. Views of university president Judith I. Bailey on their efforts; Creation of the Biosciences Research and Commercialization Center to provide incentives for dismissed scientists; Negotiation of contracts and concessions between Bailey and community leaders and Pfizer.

Focuses on General Motors Corporation (GM), which announced plans to cut its labor force in the U.S. by about 25,000 jobs. Comments of Jayne Atwell, a GM worker who has moved from plant to plant over the years as the company has closed factories and cut its labor force; How GM did not disclose which plants it intends to shut down; Experience of workers at the Flint Metal Center in Flint, Michigan; Issue of strife with GM management over jobs; Views of workers in Flint and across the country; Reactions of workers to GM's latest announcement.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- When Alabama's Jefferson County filed for the largest municipal bankruptcy in American history this week, it looked a little like another domino had fallen. Harrisburg, the capital of Pennsylvania, filed for bankruptcy last month. The tiny city of Central Falls, R.I., filed in the summer. Hamtramck, Mich., tried to declare bankruptcy last year but was stopped by the state. From coast to coast, cities have had to cut services, lay off workers and raise taxes as the downturn has lingered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The official appointed by President Obama to help communities scarred by auto plant closures and layoffs promised some help during a tour of Michigan. He announced better access to training for unemployed workers, more loans for small businesses and $10.3 million to redevelop closed factory sites. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

-- For much of the last 90 years, Kettering University honed its reputation as the West Point of the automobile industry, offering valuable work experience for its students at car companies and parts suppliers, and then virtually assuring them lucrative jobs upon graduation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article reports on the decision of Ford Motor Co. to expand its plant-by-plant buyout program to 14 more plants in Michigan and Ohio by August 2008 as it looks to further reduce its payrolls. It notes that the program is among the measures the firm is taking to address decline in U.S. sales. The program was launched following the failure of the firm to reach its target of cutting about 8,000 workers during a company-wide incentive offered in 2008.

WHO shot General Motors? The company's stock is at its lowest level in 50 years, and its market valuation has plunged to $5.9 billion, less than that of the Hershey candy-bar company. The automaker is weighing yet another round of layoffs -- and maybe even a fire sale of venerable brands like Buick and Pontiac. General Motors once manufactured half the cars on the American road, but now it sells barely 2 in 10. Bankruptcy is not unthinkable for Detroit's former king. The immediate cause of G.M.'s distress, of course, is the surging price of oil, which has put a chill on the sale of gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles and trucks. The company's failure to invest early enough in hybrids is another culprit. Years of poor car design is another. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article reveals that General Motors Corp. will end a third shift by the end of 2007 at its assembly plant near Lansing, Michigan, and lay off about 1,000 workers. The plant has operated on three shifts to meet initial demand for the products Buick Enclave, Saturn Outlook and GMC Acadia crossovers. The company is trying to manage its inventory to keep enough vehicles on dealer lots.

Reports on the decision of automobile parts manufacturer Dana Corp. to close a foundry in Michigan, cutting a number of jobs.

Reports on the retrenchment of jobs at automobile factory of General Motors Corp. in Lansing, Michigan. Plan of the firm to end the production of the Oldsmobile Alero; Eligibility of the workers for other jobs in the company.

Reports on falls in sales for the so-called Big Three automobile manufacturers in the United States, for January 2002. Reasons, including fading incentives and problems in the rental car industry; Comments of economists; Ford Motor Company's expectations for 2002 industry sales; Job cuts by Michigan-based auto supplier Lear Corporation; Highlights of the overall market.