DETROIT, MI. - A downturn in car sales is slowing production lines at General Motors plants across the country, including GM Lordstown.

The American automaker cut nearly 5,000 jobs this year as consumers shift to purchasing more SUVs and crossover vehicles.

Production was trimmed back at GM Lordstown to two shifts in early 2017. 

"We're seeing some belt-tightening," said Michelle Krebs, executive analyst for AutoTrader.com.

Krebs has monitored and reported on the industry, including GM, for 35 years.

She believes GM is likely working on its strategy for future manufacturing capacities. Which plants will produce which models and the products of tomorrow that are still in the development stages.

Krebs predicts more potential setbacks before GM sets a new course.

"I think it's possible we'll see more layoffs and that it will get worse before it gets better because we're seeing a continuous slide in car sales," she said.

Krebs joins four other analysts 21 News reached out to who believe an SUV or crossover vehicle would benefit Valley production lines.

"It would be great if the Lordstown plant had a sports utility vehicle in that plant. That would be more secure," she said.

Automotive News Editor Nick Bunkley spent the last decade as the publication's General Motors reporter. He believes manufacturing another car at GM Lordstown would make the most financial sense for the company.

"You need to sort of look at what could be built on the same line. So you can't add a pickup truck or something like that in Lordstown, but you could add something that would be on the same platform or similar size platform," Bunkley said.

GM Lordstown isn't the only plant forced to scale back shifts. 

The Detroit Hamtramck Assembly plant eliminated its second shift earlier this year and the Fairfax Assembly plant in Kansas City, Kansas, is also only making one car, the Chevy Malibu. He says those two plants are facing more uncertainty in comparison to Lordstown.

Bunkley is hearing from sources that the Fairfax plant will likely begin building a Cadillac vehicle to give production levels a boost.

"GM can't keep running these plants at one shift. That's when they end up losing money and getting into situations that they do have to start taking more drastic measures," he said.

Bunkley says he hasn't heard of any reason that Lordstown would be in any danger of closing.