NOVEMBER 7, 2019 LORDSTOWN PLANT SOLD TO ELECTRIC PICKUP STARTUP.
GM has announced the sale of their closed 6-million square-foot Lordstown, Ohio, assembly plant to startup Lordstown Motors Corporation, who plans to make electric pickup trucks, aimed at business and government customers.
The pickup truck, the workhorse of American industry, has become the object of affection from millennial and it is unknown if traditional pickup owners, especially those who operate in harsh (hot or cold) climates are willing to risk their livelihood of sketchy electric vehicles.
Perhaps the company, like Tesla, is gambling on the existence of government subsidies, grants, and tax allowances — plus customer incentives?
MARCH 7, 2019 — THE LAST CHEVY CRUZE ROLLED OFF THE LINE
"General Motors is ending production at its Lordstown, Ohio plant Wednesday — two days earlier than previously expected. A GM spokesperson said that's when the 6.2 million-square-foot plant will churn out its last Chevy Cruze sedan. At that point, the factory will be unallocated, which means no vehicles will be assigned to that facility.” An estimated 1700 employees will be affected. The plant will be closed and sold.
DECEMBER 29,2018 — THE RIPPLE BECOMES A WAVE
Lordstown Seating Systems has announced that it will be going beyond the 83 layoffs previously announced and laying off virtually the entire plant by March 2019. It is anticipate that approximately 120 employees will lose their jobs.
A company spokesperson noted, “Should General Motors allocate a future product to Lordstown Assembly, we would hope to be selected as the seat supplier, which would allow us to recall a significant number of employees. If a future product is not allocated by General Motors and/or we are not selected as the seat supplier for the future product, these layoffs should be considered permanent.”
JUNE 12, 2018 — GM WORKERS TAKE EARLY RETIREMENT PRIOR TO LAYOFFS
As a consequence of General Motors offer of early retirement in April 2018 prior to preparations to layoff the second shift at the Lordstown, Ohio, plant, 595 employees have accepted to either retire early or take GM’s buyout package offer.
APRIL 19,2018 — AN EXAMPLE OF THE RIPPLE EFFECT…
As a consequence of the layoffs at the General Motor's plant, Lordstown Seating Systems, a local provider of car seating solutions, announced the layoffs of 83 employees.
Original Blog Entry ...
General Motors has announced that it will lay off up to 1,500 second shift workers at their Chevy Cruze Assembly Complex in their Lordstown, Ohio assembly plant.
According to a General Motors spokesperson, the decline in Cruze sales is directly responsible for the layoffs. GM can no longer simply ship additional cars to dealers – even at a discount – if consumer buying patterns shift and overall demand is reduced. It appears that consumer buying tastes are shifting toward trucks and SUVs. The 2019 version of the Cruze is on schedule to be launched later this year.
According to published reports, “March 2018 was the 11th consecutive month of sales declines for the Cruze. Last year, the plant lost its third shift and saw more than 10 weeks of downtime because of the trend away from small cars.”
Since the United Autoworkers acquired a chunk of General Motors ownership under an arrangement during the Obama administration, they appear to have a conflict of interest in maximizing profits and keeping their members gainfully employed.
Union leadership in Lordstown is changing as UAW local 1714 and UAW Local 1112 merged to compensate for declining membership as union members retire and to make it easier for GM to renegotiate the expiring 2019 contract rather than deal with two unions for employees at the same location. It is another reason for individuals to develop multiple independent sources of income and to be prepared for turbulent times.
Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?
