The former steel region in eastern Ohio across the Pennsylvania border is moving forward with a new industry: electric vehicles. Leaders are pushing the region as Voltage Valley, largely anchored by an electric vehicle battery plant, and troubled electric truck upstart Lordstown Motors.
Despite this uncertainty, efforts are moving forward with workforce training to supply both companies with the thousands of qualified employees they will need.
The Bumpy Road to Voltage Valley
Lordstown Motors sparked hope in the Mahoning Valley when it bought GM鈥檚 former assembly plant that closed in 2019 and started converting it to make its battery-powered pickup truck, the Endurance.
The company let some investors, analysts and the media take a peek at the plant, with tours this week.
Upbeat employees clad in black Lordstown Motors t-shirts, stopped at predetermined spots inside the plant, like the stamping operation, where they press sheets of metal to make pieces for the cab, the paint shop, and the general assembly area where the finished cab is 鈥渕arried鈥� to the chassis.
John Wood, director of general assembly, said he worked at this plant for years when it was still owned by GM.
鈥淢y last assignment with General Motors was to help close this place down. I鈥檓 ecstatic to be part of the team that鈥檚 going to reopen it,鈥� Wood said.
The plant looks clean inside, but it鈥檚 unclear how close it is to producing trucks. For instance, one stop on the tour showed a prototype of the truck鈥檚 unique four-part motor system, where a motor is attached to each wheel hub. Floor space was cleared and painted in this area, but company officials said the actual motors are scheduled arrive at the plant in August, just a month before they expect to start production.
Lordstown Motors itself has cast doubt on its ability to start commercial production and start selling trucks. In just the past few weeks, the company revealed that it might not last a year without additional investments, and admitted it doesn鈥檛 have any firm purchase commitments for the Endurance.
Lordstown Motors鈥� founder and CEO Steve Burns, along with the chief financial officer, resigned. Most recently, the Wall Street Journal reported that five company executives sold off $8 million of stocks before its dismal first-quarter earnings report.
The company let some investors, analysts and the media take a peek at the plant, with tours this week.
Upbeat employees clad in black Lordstown Motors t-shirts, stopped at predetermined spots inside the plant, like the stamping operation, where they press sheets of metal to make pieces for the cab, the paint shop, and the general assembly area where the finished cab is 鈥渕arried鈥� to the chassis.
Lordstown Motors declined to talk about these problems on the tour.
As employees took visitors on test drives on a beta version of the Endurance, Lordstown police officer Brett Blank stood watching, unconcerned about the recent news.
鈥�We鈥檙e excited, and honestly we can鈥檛 wait to see the future of this plant because it is the future of Lordstown,鈥� Blank said. 鈥淎nd a lot of us have been [life-long] residents, and we鈥檙e depending on this plant to do well.鈥�
Still Hope for Voltage Valley鈥檚 Future
Whatever happens with Lordstown Motors, business and political leaders still sound optimistic.
鈥淯ndoubtedly, the news coming out of Lordstown Motors is concerning,鈥� said Democratic Congressman Tim Ryan, who represents the area. 鈥淚t is important to remember that they are one piece of a larger movement transforming our region into what has been coined as Voltage Valley.鈥�
Guy Coviello, president of the Youngstown-Warren Regional Chamber of Commerce said he hopes Lordstown Motors generates the capital it needs to produce vehicles long-term, but noted that electric vehicle manufacturing is a competitive new industry. 鈥淓very time there is new technology, there will be multiple fits and starts,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his doesn鈥檛 change Voltage Valley.鈥�
Coviello pointed to other major new investments coming in the area, like Ultium Cells, a joint venture of General Motors and LG Energy Solutions. Ultium is building a $2.3 billion battery plant in Lordstown that鈥檚 expected to open next year and hire 1,100 people.
When GM closed its Chevrolet plant, the loss of jobs was hard on the community, according to Lordstown鈥檚 fire chief Travis Eastham. He worked for 25 years at the former GM plant, removing dents and painting cars. Eastham is glad to hear about all the new jobs, but he still has some concerns.
鈥淭he last thing we want is a bunch of low-paying jobs with repeat turnover of people because no one wins in that one. It鈥檚 just not good for the area,鈥� he said.
GM recently agreed to support unionization efforts at Ultium, after the United Auto Workers called on them to pay union wages at new joint venture battery plants.
The jobs there won鈥檛 be the same as the former assembly line jobs though, and Ultium will need to find enough qualified workers.
Getting the Workforce Ready
At a recent virtual job fair hosted by nearby Youngstown State University, Ultium鈥檚 COO Tom Gallagher introduced the battery cell they will be making at the plant, to the 89 people in attendance.
鈥淭his is what propels the vehicle. It is roughly 18 inches long, about four inches high. It has about four volts of power in this battery,鈥� he explained. 鈥淵ou have hundreds of these in a vehicle. We鈥檒l be making millions of these in Ohio.鈥�
They need workers trained in their computer and chemical processes to make these cells, which is why Youngstown State received $5 million dollars from GM to develop workforce training.
鈥淲e know that the skills of today are going to require more than a high school diploma,鈥� said Jennifer Oddo, the university鈥檚 director of Workforce Education and Innovation. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e coming into an environment where you鈥檙e working on computers. You have digital literacy skills. You鈥檙e working in a team environment where communication, collaboration is really critical to the success of your job.鈥�
Youngstown State already has courses and apprenticeships in areas like robotics and IT networks. It鈥檚 opening a new $22 million dollar workforce training center, funded by the state and federal governments, later this summer. Altogether, the university hopes to train 1,500 workers over the next 18 to 24 months in new types of manufacturing like electric batteries and vehicles, according to Oddo.
鈥淭hese new jobs coming into these new industries, they鈥檙e going to pay a higher wage. They鈥檙e going to require an advanced skill,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o building training programs, building these apprenticeship models will really help us to ensure that we are building a sustainable community for the Mahoning Valley, for Voltage Valley.鈥�
Still, it鈥檚 unclear whether the shaky position of Lordstown Motors is a concern for the whole industry, or is just a bump in the road for the region鈥檚 move toward a new electric vehicle future.
