GM's Oldest Plant Nears End of Its Days in Wis.

As the last SUV rolled off the production line at General Motors' oldest plant here Tuesday, Karen Green promised herself she would keep her emotions in check.

In this Oct. 13, 2008 file photo, General Motors employees leave the GM plant during a shift change...

In this Oct. 13, 2008 file photo, General Motors employees leave the GM plant during a shift change in Janesville, Wis. With their employers poised to announce billions more in losses and further job cuts on Friday, Nov. 7, 2008, it's worry time once again at General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. factories across the country.

(Andy Manis/AP Photo)

The Janesville plant was built in 1918 for tractor production and converted to a Chevrolet plant in 1923. Green had worked on the assembly line for 14 years.

When plant and union officials began thanking workers for their years of service, however, she couldn't hold back the tears.

"I was pretty good up until the end. Then I lost it," said Green, 55, of Fort Atkinson. "It was just so somber, so sad."

Green was one of 1,200 employees let go when GM ended production at the southern Wisconsin plant.

Another 800 or so jobs have been lost at local companies that supplied GM parts.

Over the years, workers churned out sedans and SUVs, including Chevrolet Suburbans and GMC Yukons. But demand for big vehicles plummeted during the days of $4 gas this summer and failed to recover as fuel prices came down.

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"We gave it a pretty good run for 85 years," said Steve Kriefall, 58, of Janesville. "But these are tough times now, and it's hard to see it come to this."

Kriefall retired from a 25-year career at the plant two years ago, but came back Tuesday for the final day.

The recession and a reluctant to extend credit have further hurt GM and other U.S. automakers. GM's sales have dropped 18 percent, and the company has lost $57.5 billion in the past 18 months.

In response, GM has announced 11,000 U.S. layoffs this year. They include 1,080 workers at a GM plant in Moraine, Ohio, that also closed Tuesday.

About 50 workers will remain at the Janesville plant to complete an order of small- to medium-duty trucks for Isuzu Motors Ltd. They're scheduled to finish by May or June, and then the plant will close for good, GM spokesman Christopher Lee said.

The recent job losses follow years of dwindling employment at the plant, which had 8,000 workers in the early 1990s. Some wonder whether the Janesville area can survive.