密歇根新闻广播 通用汽车宣布减产并裁员

General Motors shocked the automotive world on Monday when the company announced it would curb² production in five factories nationwide, including two Michigan plants one in Hamtramck and one in Warren.

But Michigan State University economist³ Charley Ballard wasn't entirely⁴ surprised by GM's decision. He joined Stateside to talk about the implications of the layoffs⁵ and closures on Michigan's broader economy.

Ballard says that North American auto¹ sales have been fairly flat over the past several years, and that there isn't much room for them to grow.

We used to buy passenger cars. We used to buy sedans. Now, that's less than a third of the market. The market is in crossovers, SUVs, and pickups. And so the plants that are closing and the plants that might be vulnerable for future closing are the ones that make these vehicles that are less popular than they used to be, Ballard explained.

Ballard describes the plant closures as a blow to a community's sense of itself. It will result in the loss of around 14,000 jobs nationwide, including thousands of both blue and white collar jobs in Southeast Michigan. It's likely that businesses near closing plants will lose customers and that local governments will experience a decrease in revenue.

However, Ballard also says that a changing automotive industry could provide incentive⁶ to further diversify⁷ Michigan's economy.

There are a lot of other sectors⁸ where I think we could do more. We could do more probably to promote tourism, more to try to attract finance and insurance. There are a lot of things going on in the economy outside of manufacturing, and that's going to be true for a very long time, he said.

Auto workers who will be out of a job in 2019 may have trouble finding a comparable position. But Ballard says he's optimistic that many of these people will land on their feet.

Right now, our unemployment rate is lower than it's been since 2000. Our economy is continuing to grow, and so at least for a lot of those workers, I'm very hopeful that there will be good opportunities, Ballard said.

1 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

2 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

3 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

4 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

5 layoffs   

临时解雇( layoff的名词复数 )； 停工，停止活动

参考例句：

• Textile companies announced 2000 fresh layoffs last week. 各纺织公司上周宣布再次裁员两千人。
• Stock prices broke when the firm suddenly announced layoffs. 当公司突然宣布裁员时，股票价格便大跌

6 incentive   

n.刺激；动力；鼓励；诱因；动机

参考例句：

• Money is still a major incentive in most occupations.在许多职业中，钱仍是主要的鼓励因素。
• He hasn't much incentive to work hard.他没有努力工作的动机。

7 diversify   

v.（使）不同，（使）变得多样化

参考例句：

• Our company is trying to diversify.我们公司正力图往多样化方面发展。
• Hills and woods diversify the landscape.山陵和树木点缀景色。

8 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》