General Motors has announced a $50 million investment in its Lordstown Assembly plant for a new flexible trim shop and upgrades to the press room for the next-generation Chevrolet Cruze compact sedan.
Some construction has already begun on the plant. Chevrolet says it will announce the production start of the next-generation Cruze at a later date.
“This investment will enhance our customer responsiveness while providing our team with the tools and processes needed to be the best at building the next generation Cruze,” said Lordstown Plant Manager Bob Parcell.
In addition to the investment, the UAW Locals 1112 and 1714 Â purchased the 1 millionth Chevrolet Cruze, which rolled off the Lordstown assembly line on April 10. The Cruze is a red LT model equipped with an RS package and will be raffled off to a Lordstown employee with all proceeds going to local charity.
The plant investment adds to the more than $250 million invested in Lordstown since 2009. The complex has built more than 15 million vehicles since it first opened in 1996.
Comments
I don’t like it when they put a beautiful name such as Chevrolet in the same paragraph as UAW.
Unions are not “evil”. There were created to protect workers. I worked with union members under my section, and only once I had a problem, but it was the worker’s fault, not mine (the Union defended me). Some union leaders may become too “drunk” with their power, but the unions recognize the authority of the owner, and everyone can work peacefully.
he UAW in Lordstown is not your normal group.
They once were one of the hardest unions to deal with but now they have learned that to survive they need to work with GM. The Youngstown area is like a little Detroit and they have lost many jobs.
The UAW there realized early on that if they did not work with GM that they could be shut down easily. This is the largest single plant GM has and could be closed due to cost easily.
They learned early to work out deals on the new cars and they would be rewarded with good solid work. Because of this GM wins and they have a win with good pay on solid hours with the top selling car.
They also understand this car could easily be moved and built anywhere in the world.
I am no UAW booster but I will give them credit where they do deserve it. More of them have learned and could learn from this union.