Mitsubishi announced today that it will suspend production at its Illinois plant for seven weeks next year after its U.S. sales declined 25 percent through November. The Japanese automaker will halt production at its Normal, Illinois factory starting Feb. 16th to April 3rd.

The move will mark the longest production shutdown at the plant according to Dan Irvin, a spokesman for Mitsubishi North America who spoke with Automotive News.

The plant is responsible for building the Mitsubishi Eclipse and Galant and employs 1,568 employees including more than 1,200 hourly UAW represented workers. Mitsubishi will keep all employees on the payroll but will shift their duties to non-production work.

Mitsubishi’s CEO Osamu Masuko is considering killing production of the Galant at the companies Normal, Illinois plant. Instead he plans on producing small cars at the factory and is also considering moving production of the Lancer and Outlander crossover to the plant.

The plant has been running on low capacity for some time now. Last month, the Normal factory received a 4-year extension after Mitsubishi and the UAW signed a deal. Masuko is now working with analysts to figure out what model mix will be most profitable for the plant.

“To do the Galant again in the United States is not realistic,” Masuko told Automotive News.

He said that the most sensible thing for Mitsubishi to do is kill the sedan in midcycle and reintroduce it when it has a successor. The new 2009 Mitsubishi Galant was recently unveiled at the 2008 Chicago Auto Show in Feb.

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)