[NickJ]

Production issues have crept into the assembly lines in GM plants as they are introducing 20 new, or significantly reworked vehicles. The rumors of production delay that have been circulating on the forums have been pretty on the money as evidenced by the fact that GM is turning to former employees to help them out. The focus is on the all new Silverado and Sierra as this is a completely reworked vehicle for 2014.

Hiring retirees is a brand new concept for GM, who has traditionally relied on third party companies for fortification during the stresses of new vehicle launches.

The rehired retirees typically work for months; depending on their specialty, they may work on multiple vehicle launches, said GM spokesman Tom Henderson. Others may come back to work on just one, he said.

GM would not say how much the retirees are being paid, but Henderson said there is no change for their pensions.

While automakers and suppliers dropped salaried workers and offered early retirements and buyouts during the recession, Henderson said GM’s current approach is not related to the downturn but gives them the ability to tap into a source of talent when needed.

The carmaker also has reassigned some workers — such as key quality leaders or even plant managers — to work at suppliers to help with launches, she said.

The launch focus with suppliers is part of GM’s efforts to improve supplier quality. The company has hired more than 100 employees since last fall to helpimprove relationships with suppliers, Hickok said. Partnering with suppliers has helped to remove roadblocks and resolve issues faster.

GM said its practice of hiring back retirees and reassigning employees for launches is helping to boost quality. “We absolutely believe that this enables in on-time quality launches and reduced costs in the long term,” Hickok said.

This is a great thing, but here is the news that I was interested in.

Reuss said he meets regularly with the launch teams involved with the trucks, all-new 2014 Corvette Stingray and revamped 2014 Cadillac CTS.

Production on the Corvette begins during this quarter, and on the CTS this fall.

“Our focus at GM is launching these products and getting higher margin and growing the business, especially in North America,” Reuss said.

Read the whole story from The Detroit News.