LORDSTOWN, Ohio – The last compact car rolled off the line Wednesday at General Motors’ massive assembly plant in Ohio as the automaker began moving toward its future while workers wondered about theirs.
GM is eliminating all 1,700 hourly positions, perhaps for good, at the factory near Youngstown, the first of five North American auto plants that it intends to shut down by early next year.
The plant closings are part of a major restructuring for GM, which plans to shed as many as 14,000 workers and shift its focus to making trucks, SUVs and electric and autonomous vehicles.
Chuck Rodriguez, a 19-year employee, protests outside the plant, Wednesday, March 6, 2019, in Lordstown, Ohio. General Motors’ sprawling Lordstown assembly plant near Youngstown is ending production of the Chevrolet Cruze sedan, ending for now more than 50 years of auto manufacturing at the site. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)Most of the jobs being slashed companywide are white-collar positions. But there’s still uncertainty about the fate of the plants because the closings still must be negotiated with the United Auto Workers later this summer.
There was a somber mood inside the plant, where more than 50 years of car manufacturing came to an end.