Round 2 of GM buyouts

By Don Shilling

Most workers won’t give up jobs making good money

LORDSTOWN — Like a game show host, General Motors is dangling $140,000 in front of Mike Holub, but the 40-year-old autoworker is saying, “No deal.”

To take the cash, he’d have to quit his job.

“It’s attractive, but it’s just not economical,” Holub said Thursday outside GM’s Lordstown complex after he heard details of the company’s latest buyout offer.

The Newton Falls resident, who is a weld repairman, is looking forward to a long career at GM and is taking classes toward a master’s degree in hopes of moving up within the corporation.

Workers who were interviewed said they expect few young workers to accept the buyouts, which are either $70,000 or $140,000 depending on years of service. Most of the people who leave will be those who are ready to retire, they said. Workers with at least 30 years’ service will receive a $45,000 incentive to leave with full retirement and health care.

But some, such as Alan Taylor, 56, of Youngstown, say a job at Lordstown is too good to leave. Taylor, who has 38 years at the plant, said he earned $125,000 last year working a lot of overtime on the assembly line, including some weeks of more than 100 hours.

“Why would I give up the shot to get that kind of money?” he asked.

Leaving with a pension of $35,000 a year and a $45,000 buyout doesn’t interest him.

But Chris Gonzalez, 62, of Campbell, is ready to go. He already has signed up for the $45,000 bonus, and his last day on the job will be April 30.

“It’s kind of scary,” he said. “You get up every day and come here for 40 years. This is a new thing.”

He’s confident that he made the right decision, however. Being eligible for Social Security in addition to the company pension makes him feel comfortable.

GM offered a similar buyout plan in 2006 with a $35,000 bonus for those who could retire. Gonzalez said he had two children in college then and didn’t think it was the right time, especially without Social Security. Those children have graduated, and now his youngest is in college.

Jim Lockaton, 55, of Girard, said age is a big factor in who is taking the buyout. Even though he has 30 years at the plant, he said he isn’t interested in the $45,000 bonus because he plans to work until he is 62.

“Why would I want to quit here and then go work for $8 an hour?” he asked.

Job duties will be changing for older workers who stay, however, he said.

A national labor contract between GM and the United Auto Workers cut the pay for jobs not directly connected to the assembly line from $27 an hour to about $14 an hour. Lockaton said workers such as him used to look forward to moving into some off-line jobs that are less physically demanding, such as driving a fork lift.

Now, the veteran workers will have to stay on the production line to keep the higher-paying jobs, said Lockaton, who works in metal finish repair.

In the 2006 buyouts, 1,600 workers at the Lordstown assembly and fabricating plants retired or left the company. In response, GM eliminated the midnight shift at the plants, which have about 3,400 workers remaining.

Chad Coleman, 31, of Girard, said many younger workers who took the large buyouts in 2006 have come to regret it. “It’s hard to find work,” he said.

Coleman, who has nine years at the plant, said he recently was married and is looking forward to keeping his job and providing for a family.

GM hasn’t said how many people are expected to leave with buyouts this year or how many lower-tiered workers it hopes to hire.

Holub, the 40-year-old Lordstown worker, said the lower-tier wage is necessary to keep GM competitive and able to make cars in the U.S.

“We’re not happy with the lower-tier wage, but we have to do what we have to do to protect jobs in this Valley,” he said.

shilling@vindy.com