8-K

                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

                              WASHINGTON, DC 20549

                                   ----------

                                    FORM 8-K

                                 CURRENT REPORT
                     PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
                         SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

       Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported) November 20, 2003

                                  GenCorp Inc.
               --------------------------------------------------
               (Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)

            Ohio                           1-01520               34-0244000
            ----                           -------               ----------
(State or Other Jurisdiction          (Commission File          IRS Employer
      of Incorporation)                    Number)           Identification No.)

Highway 50 and Aerojet Road, Rancho Cordova, California             95670
- -------------------------------------------------------             -----
         (Address of Principal Executive Offices)                 (Zip Code)

P.O. Box 537012, Sacramento, California                           95853-7012
- ---------------------------------------                           ----------
         (Mailing Address)                                        (Zip Code)

        Registrant's telephone number, including area code (916) 355-4000



Item 5. Other Events

Attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 and incorporated herein by this reference is the
text of the registrant's press release which was issued on November 20, 2003.

Exhibit 99.1 is a GenCorp Inc. press release dated November 20, 2003, in which
GenCorp announced that the Board of Directors approved a project to close
Snappon SA, a company located in Chartres (France), one of three GDX Automotive
manufacturing facilities located in France.

Item 7. Exhibits

     99.1              GenCorp Inc.'s press release dated November 20, 2003.

                                    SIGNATURE

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

                                 GENCORP INC.

                                 By:  /s/ Mark A. Whitney
                                      ----------------------------
                                 Name:  Mark A. Whitney
                                 Title: Vice President, Law; Deputy
                                        General Counsel and Assistant Secretary

Dated: November 20, 2003




                                  EXHIBIT INDEX

Exhibit Number       Description
- --------------       -----------

     99.1            GenCorp's Inc.'s press release dated November 20, 2003.

EX-99.1

                      GDX Automotive to Close French Plant

    SACRAMENTO, Calif., Nov. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- GenCorp Inc.
(NYSE: GY) announced that the Board of Directors today approved a project to
close Snappon SA, a company located in Chartres (France), one of three GDX
Automotive manufacturing facilities located in France.  The Chartres facility
manufactures automotive sealing systems.  The closure project is due to
declining sales volumes with French automobile manufacturers.
    GDX Automotive will begin discussions with employee representatives in
France and will develop employee transition programs for the approximately 260
employees that are expected to be affected by the plant closure. The
contemplated closure of the Chartres facility is expected to be completed in
the first half of 2004.
    After offsets for U.S. tax benefits, the project is not expected to
consume significant cash.  The Company expects that the costs of winding up
the Chartres operations, completing employee transition programs and other
closure costs, will result in a net charge to earnings in the second quarter
of 2004 of approximately $10 to $15 million.  During the fourth quarter of
2003, the Company expects to record impairment charges and asset write-downs
related to the project, which are expected to be substantially offset by the
U.S. tax benefits.

    Forward Looking Statements
    This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  All statements in this
release and in subsequent discussions with the Company's management, other
than historical information, may be deemed to be forward-looking statements.
These statements may present (without limitation) management's expectations,
beliefs, plans and objectives, future financial performance and assumptions or
judgments concerning such matters.  A variety of factors could cause actual
results or outcomes to differ materially from those expected by the Company
and expressed in the Company's forward-looking statements.   These factors are
described in more detail in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the
year ended November 30, 2002 and its subsequent filings with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission. Additional risks may be described from
time-to-time in future filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission. All such risk factors are difficult to predict, contain material
uncertainties that may affect actual results, and may be beyond the Company's
control.

    GenCorp is a multi-national, technology-based manufacturer with operations
in the automotive, aerospace, defense and pharmaceutical fine chemicals
industries. Additional information about GenCorp can be obtained by visiting
the Company's website at www.GenCorp.com.

SOURCE  GenCorp Inc.
    -0-                             11/20/2003
    /CONTACT:  investors, Yasmin Seyal, senior vice president and chief
financial officer, +1-916-351-8585, or press, Linda Beech Cutler, vice
president, corporate communications, +1-916-351-8650, both of GenCorp Inc./
    /Photo:  NewsCom:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20010108/SFM125LOGO
                 AP Archive:  http://photoarchive.ap.org
                 PRN Photo Desk, 1-888-776-6555 or +1-212-782-2840/
    /Web site:  http://www.gencorp.com /
    (GY)

CO:  GenCorp Inc.; Snappon SA; GDX Automotive
ST:  California, France
IN:  CPR AUT CHM HEA MTC ARO
SU: