‘Best news’: 1,400 in 3rd GM shift

By Don Shilling

In May, the Lordstown-built Cobalt had its best sales month since June 2006.

LORDSTOWN — One area official called the addition of 1,400 jobs at the General Motors complex “the best news we’ve had in the Valley for at least 30 years.”

Tom Humphries, president of the Regional Chamber, said no industrial expansion in recent decades has been as large as GM’s Monday announcement that it is adding a midnight shift at Lordstown.

And GM is in a hurry.

Two weeks ago, GM said it was adding the shift in September but didn’t announce how many workers would be needed. On Monday, plant workers were told that a full shift — 1,400 workers — was being added to the assembly and fabrication plants, starting Aug. 4.

The date was moved up because of surging sales of the Chevrolet Cobalt, which is made at the plant, said Chris Lee, a GM spokesman in Detroit.

In May, the Cobalt had its best sales month since June 2006 with 26,702 units sold in the U.S.

“With gas prices, small cars will continue to sell well, and we’re reacting to that,” Lee said.

The additional workers will be a combination of new hires and transfers.

First priority is given to workers from other GM plants who have requested transfers. Also, workers from Delphi Corp. plants are being given the opportunity to move to GM plants because the automaker used to own Delphi. Both GM and Delphi are cutting production and have excess workers.

Lee said GM won’t know until mid-July how many new hires will be needed. Union officials at Lordstown have said new hires would come from a referral list that was created earlier this year. GM typically selects new hires from people who are recommended by current workers.

Lee said other hiring methods could be used beyond the referral list, but he didn’t have details. Bill Turner, work force administrator at Trumbull County One Stop, said GM hasn’t contacted the county-run job agency.

Leaders of United Auto Workers Local 1112 said in a flier to members that people from each department have been selected to determine how workers will be picked for the third shift.

The Lordstown complex now has about 3,400 hourly workers, though about 550 have accepted a recent buyout offer and are to leave the company July 1.

The new shift replaces a midnight shift that was cut in 2006 when about 1,600 Lordstown workers accepted a buyout offer. Instead of replacing those workers, the plant went to two shifts with frequent overtime.

A new labor contract provides that new hires who aren’t working directly on the assembly line be paid $14 an hour, about half the normal rate for production workers. This work includes material handling and janitorial jobs.

Workers in the second pay tier would move up to the first tier as senior workers retire. They would not have the pension and retirement health-care benefits that current workers have, however.

Two weeks ago, Rick Wagoner, GM chief executive, said Lordstown was a key part of its plan. The company is emphasizing small, fuel-efficient cars and cutting production of trucks and sport-utility vehicles.

In 2010, GM will launch a new small car from the Lordstown plant. Not many details have been released, but freelance photographers have released photos of test cars that show a car with a slightly more aggressive design.

shilling@vindy.com