The last Chevy Cruze rolled off the assembly line at the GM plant in Lordstown, Ohio, Wednesday. Workers draped an American flag over the white, four-door sedan. Now, most of the more than 1,500 workers on the last remaining shift will be laid off.
John Davies Jr., who says he鈥檚 worked at the plant for more than a decade, could have the plant as soon as he finished installing electrical components in the final Cruze. But instead, he said he followed the car down the line, using the opportunity to say, 鈥淲e鈥檒l see ya,鈥� to his colleagues.
鈥淲e didn鈥檛 say 鈥榞oodbye,鈥� because we鈥檙e having hope that we鈥檒l get another product,鈥� said Davies.
The last Chevy Cruze produced at the GM Lordstown plant rolled off the assembly line at 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday. [Drive It Home Ohio campaign]
At United Auto Workers Local 1112's union hall later that morning, Davies held back tears as he talked about how the uncertainty will affect his three children, especially his 11-year-old daughter. On top of that, he said that working at GM had been a 鈥渄ream鈥� of his.
鈥淲hen you talk to kids and hear them say, when they鈥檙e little, they want to be a fireman,鈥� he said, 鈥淚 wanted to work at GM.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 living my dream, so right now, this is heartbreaking.鈥�
In the coming days, a fraction of the plant鈥檚 workers will stick around to produce small parts for the car and prepare the plant to be 鈥渦nallocated.鈥� According to a GM spokeswoman, although car production will cease, the plant will continue to be managed by a small number of staff who will ensure the facility remains 鈥渟afe and secure.鈥�
Around 2:30 p.m., a few dozen people gathered outside the plant to commiserate, share their grievances. Some hugged, some cried. Many were employees who just worked their last shift. Others, like Jaquetta Steele, had already retired, but turned out to show support.
鈥淭his is so wrong,鈥� Steele said. 鈥淚t tears families apart.鈥�
John Davies Jr had an emotional last day at the GM Lordstown plant where the final Chevy Cruze rolled off the assembly line this afternoon. 鈥� 90.3 WCPN ideastream (@WCPN)
While some former employees of the plant say they are hopeful that GM will assign another product to the plant, no such plans have been announced. That means the hundreds of workers have a difficult choice to make. Some have opted to transfer to GM plants in other states, others plan to bide their time in the hope that GM will reactivate the factory, and still others say they may return to school, seek job training, or simply pray.
鈥淩ight now our members are kind of being asked to make a bet,鈥� said David Green, president of Local 1112, which represents workers at the plant. 鈥淒o they transfer? Do they wait it out? It鈥檚 a pretty big gamble.鈥�
The layoffs are part of a larger restructuring of the company that was announced on Nov. 26, 2018. In addition to reducing its salaried workforce by 15 percent, the company said it would 鈥渦nallocate鈥� three GM assembly plants (in Lordstown, Detroit, and Ontario) and two propulsion plants (in White Marsh, Md. and Warren, Mich.).
The moves would save the company $6 billion and leave it more 鈥渁gile, resilient and profitable, while giving us the flexibility to invest in the future,鈥� said GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra in a statement announcing the restructuring.
Green called GM鈥檚 decision to idle the plant 鈥渃orporate greed,鈥� but also blamed federal policies, such as President Trump鈥檚 tariff on imported steel and aluminum, which have made cars more expensive to build.
Although the compact Cruze was at one point a bestseller for GM鈥檚 Chevrolet brand, the model had seen declining sales in recent years. During that time, GM has also invested more in producing crossovers, SUVs, and trucks.
As a result, layoffs at the Lordstown plant actually began in January 2017, when GM eliminated the third shift. Later, about 1,500 employees were let go when the plant's second shift was eliminated in summer 2018.
UAW Files Labor Lawsuits
UAW Local 1112鈥檚 parent organization is currently suing GM in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.
One suit, filed on Feb. 26, alleges that GM had previously agreed not to 鈥渃lose, idle, nor partially or wholly sell鈥� any plant during the term of their collective bargaining agreement, which began on Oct. 25, 2015, and runs until September 14, 2019. As such, the suit asks the court to 鈥淩escind [GM鈥檚] decision to close Lordstown Assembly鈥� and 鈥渢ake no further steps.鈥�
A GM spokeswoman said last week that the suit has no merit and that the company has no comment beyond that.
The second suit, filed in January, alleges that GM violated a labor agreement by hiring temporary workers at its plant in Fort Wayne, Indiana, thus taking up spots that some 690 Lordstown workers might have by virtue of seniority.
The Caprice, Cobalt and Cruze: Over 50 Years of General Motors
The Lordstown Complex first opened in 1966. Its first production vehicle to come out of the 900-plus acre facility was the Chevy Impala, according to Youngstown鈥檚 WKBN First News. In the 1970鈥檚, that was joined by the Chevy Caprice, Bel Air, and the infamous Vega. In the 2000s, the plant picked up the Cobalt.
Then, in June 2009, in the midst of the Great Recession, GM declared bankruptcy, despite having received more than $13 billion in government assistance. All told, the U.S. government pumped nearly $50 billion into GM as part of its Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). That was later converted to a 61 percent stake in the company, which the government sold off in a series of stock sales concluding in 2013, according to Reuters. In a report issued in April 2014, a Special Investigator said that taxpayers lost about $11.2 billion on the principal TARP investment in GM.
In September 2009, then-President Barack Obama visited the Lordstown facility and defended the federal government鈥檚 decision to bail out GM.
鈥淵our survival and the success of our economy depended on making sure that we got the U.S. auto industry back on its feet,鈥� he said.
In 2010, the Cobalt was retired and replaced by the Cruze. Today, GM is 鈥渂ack on its feet.鈥� The company鈥檚 stock price is currently around $39, compared to 75 cents per share in May 2009.
An Uncertain Future
For the workers being laid off, the future is uncertain. John Davies Jr., who worked on the assembly line installing electrical components, says that he has not sought to transfer to another GM facility, unlike dozens of his colleagues.
However, he adds, that he could at some point receive a 鈥渇orce letter鈥� if one of the GM facilities accepting transferees needs more workers. If that happens, he says, he will essentially have no choice but to move.
鈥淚 have to take that because with having kids and a wife, I need the benefits,鈥� Davis said. 鈥淲hether its Texas, Michigan, New York, wherever 鈥� If they send me that force letter, I鈥檓 going.鈥�
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