The GM Lordstown plant settled in Ohio’s Trumbull County will go idle on March 8, which officially leaves thousands of workers in limbo and with tough choices to make.
Local newspaper The Vindicator reported workers are encouraged to wear blue as part of the Drive It Home Ohio campaign—a campaign instituted to highlight workers’ importance to Ohio. The campaign also pushed workers to take photos and share them across social media with the hashtag #SaveLordstown.
When the final shift ends at 3:00 p.m. on March 8, community leaders plan to ring the church bells and hope locals will join the workforce in wearing blue to show solidarity with the laid-off workers. When the final shift wraps up, it will be up to the United Auto Workers union to attempt to bring the plant back online as part of labor contract negotiations. The current contract expires Sept. 14.
For many workers, however, it’s over. Hundreds have accepted transfer opportunities and plan to leave the Mahoning Valley. The moves, factory closures, and supplier plant shutdowns will leave detrimental effects on the community. The Detroit News reported that many plan to uproot their lives and head to different plants where GM needs employees. Christina Defelice is one of the many affected workers. She and her husband took offers to transfer to the Bedford, Indiana, casting plant.
“My hope is dimming,” she said of the possibility to save Lordstown.
So far, about 400 workers have accepted transfer opportunities, which takes crucial population from the economically-challenged Trumbull County. The village of Lordstown’s mayor said the town runs on income taxes and stands to lose $3 million in said taxes when the plant goes idle.
The automaker has also begun handing out forced-transfer slips. Employees must take the transfer, in this case to the Wentzville, Missouri, plant for truck and van production, or they lose all remaining pay and benefits. The report said 80 workers have received the forced-transfer notices and 12 have accepted so far.
The county, which flipped from blue to red in the 2016 election for President Donald Trump, faces tough roads ahead. Many locals still support the president, though share frustrations that Ohio politicians have exhibited since last November. One worker said he still supports the president, but was disappointed in the lack of urgency surrounding the GM cuts.
With the end of Lordstown production, the Chevrolet Cruze exits the brand’s portfolio of vehicles along with the Chevrolet Volt. The Impala will exit the market next January.
Comments
On two separate occasions I have had the honour of being a guest at Lordstown Assembly and toured the facility. They are a quality workforce building a quality product. The men and woman of Lordstown deserve better than this.
Another shameful display from the idiots called GM Management.
“Let me tell you folks in Ohio and in this area, don’t sell your house. We’re going to get those jobs coming back, and we’re going to fill up those factories or rip them down and build brand-new ones. It’s going to happen.”
— trump : pandering for support. making promises he can’t deliver. the usual.
Steve, keep your asinine OPINIONS to yourself… Typhoid Mary closed the plant you moron and she was a Hitlary athletic supporter…. suppose you are too? Mary’s a loser as is Hitlary… President Trump keeps on winning… MAGA.
trump : “who’s going to pay for that wall?”
ignorant crowd : “mexico!!!!”
trump : “actually, i’m going to shutdown the government so people like those in lordstown will”
more ignorant crowd : “MMMMMAAAAAGGGGGGAAAAAAA!!!!!”
You and the idiots that gave you a thumbs up are clueless morons… pathetic morons who are obviously getting gubment handouts…. the “I want guaranteed income but refuse to work”….
People are not buying enough cruz,s. MORON
So not only does this hurt the workers and cull another sedan/hatch from our choices it also basically destroys another town’s income, hurts it’s local businesses and reduces its population. Is it any small wonder people have such a poor opinion of GM and are defecting to other brands by the thousands. Mary cab spin the big swing over to crossovers but their is no excuse they need to kill off so many of their cars at once like this.
So there is no support to help them if they go bankrupt and no support if they want to do things to remain profitable.
GM has too many plants. When you have states like Alabama and North Carolina offering huge incentives for new plants, what do think happens to other plants? The market is only so big and its already well served, so when a new plant opens, an older one closes somewhere. Guess where this time.
https://www.autonews.com/manufacturing/mazda-toyota-skipped-nc-state-still-has-16-billion-grabs?fbclid=IwAR3z_62VXuZ0GYsxlytlL0c8SN-xA8LGTL6DCXDRXd_1SdzBWLbHyNHwiQg
Unpopular opinion but I really think some of you forget GM is a business and the Automotive market is changing. I have empathy for the workers and for the town itself but GM has to cut where they need to cut and invest in what will continue to make them profitable. At least give them credit for offering transfer packages, and packages for forced retirement.
I don’t think it’s unpopular. It’s a cold, ugly fact of how corporate America has always operated.
When I first realized that, it made me think of a job as a perpetually temporary position that can come and go overnight. A job was never a fixed or guaranteed means of income, and that one should never build up their lives around a job that could be rendered useless tomorrow (either by automation or operational redundancy).
Job announcements ALWAYS make good for press, but for the worker who does get hired, a job should only be seen as a temporary means of employment and not as a career.
Chins up Lordstown!! xx
There is no place like home. Those that are the fence about transferring to another city is always a tough decision. Kids are in school and afraid of losing friends. Moving away from the rest of the family, etc. not be able to sell the home for another in the new area is a killer on your nerves. What I did is as I worked in Chicago, my wife and kid stayed in Saratoga Springs, NY. It allowed some time to sell the home and to get to know the new area such as housing, schools, rent cost, church, etc. Bring the family to the new area and show them around so they may like what they see and know what might be ahead. You have a job with benefits away from the family which may not always be easy. If it doesn’t work out you can quit the job and go back home.
It’s not the end of the world. Millions have lost their jobs including me and it always seem to work out. Usually you’re better off in the long run.
A downsizing of my station happened during my airline career and it does turn your life upside down when you transfer. But the county (and country) voted for Trump,so they got what they voted for. “I’m bringing manufacturing jobs BACK to America”! Yeah! Just like Mexico is paying for your vanity wall. I suffered 37 years ago and now these workers are suffering. I feel for them. I own a 2018 diesel Cruze.
Sadly if you go back to Lordstown in a few years all you will probably see is boarded up homes and businesses and weeds sprouting up in the sidewalk and street.
So, GM and Ford pretty much surrender in cars (I mean cars and not SUVs) market to Japanese and Korean brands, which doesn’t look particularly smart to me – feels like “putting all eggs in the SUV basket”.
So what role do unions and state n local gubments play? Many states run companies out (ny, nj, Ca)… and many welcome businesses Texas, ga, al, ms, etc… only a complete idiot ideologue would say the biggest deregulator and business tax cutter is responsible…but they’re out there… it’s Mary’s show so she’s responsible but unions nearly killed GM before perhaps she’s going to finish them off and that would be great!
Businesses do not exist to give people jobs and keep towns funded, they exist to provide products or services and make money for the stockholders, including employees who have bought stock or a mutual fund or IRA that includes stock. The market changes, people are not buying sedans like they used to. It’s a hard decision for a business to close a plant, they have to keep paying taxes, maintenance, security costs until they sell or hopefully repurpose it.