In March 2019, the GM plant in Lordstown, Ohio is scheduled to stop production of the slow-selling Cruze sedan. That means it will go idle. But not necessary shut down completely.
In a bipartisan initiative, Democratic U.S. senator Sherrod Brown and Republican U.S. senator Rob Portman met with GM head Mary Barra in Washington D.C.
They requested that GM bring to Lordstown for production an electric vehicle or the SUV. Among what they cited were the high ratings Lordstown received and the fierce work ethic of employees. Here is the report from MarketWatch.
On the local television coverage, Barra essentially stonewalled. She said retraining and possible transfers to other GM plants would be offered to those laid off at Lordstown. In addition she indicated as she has over and over again how GM was planning for its long-term future. She said nothing about bringing the production of another product to Lordstown.
The TV reporting also noted that the U.S. senators were going to discuss the matter with U.S. president Donald Trump. In his campaign he promised to keep jobs in OH. Lots of Trump supporters reside in the OH Valley.
Eventually, if Lordstown is permanently shut down the economic carnage will be immense. Not only are those 1,500 affected. So are the local auto part suppliers and small businesses. Unlike Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the OH Valley has not diversified after the demise of the steel mills.
According to rumor, the one industry which is scaling is meth manufacturing. That, along with sales of opioids, is bound to surge if Lordstown is a wrap.
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