Job cuts predicted at GM Lordstown after new models arrive

DETROIT — More than 1,000 jobs are expected to be cut from the car complex in Lordstown after General Motors places new models there, an analyst said.

The biggest cuts are coming at the fabricating complex, said Sean McAlinden, vice president of research for the Center of Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich.

He expects staffing to be cut from 1,000 to about 300 at the fabricating plant, which makes metal parts for the adjacent assembly plant and other assembly plants.

Job cuts will come as GM increases the efficiency of the fabricating plant with new equipment and stops stamping parts for assembly plants in other areas, McAlinden said Saturday at a seminar for journalists in Detroit. McAlinden said automakers are moving toward having fabricating plants tied to only one assembly complex.

The Lordstown assembly plant won’t escape the drive for efficiency, he said. McAlinden expects hourly employment at the assembly plant to fall from 2,400 to somewhere between 1,800 and 2,000.

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