Workers, others hold out hope for a turnaround

An employee notes the impact the cutbacks will have on other businesses.

Staff Report

LORDSTOWN — General Motors’ job cuts didn’t really surprise some Lordstown plant workers and village Mayor Michael Chaffee.

By the second week of January, about 1,100 hourly and salaried employees will be laid off from the local plant.

“It’s not a big surprise, but it’s terrible,” said Alyssa Marble of Warren, who has worked at GM for eight years.

So many employees moved to the area to work in Lordstown, and the possibility that they will be out of a job is the worst part of the situation, she said.

“Obviously it’s all economy-driven,” Chaffee said.

“I think if the automakers go, so goes the country,” the mayor added.

But Chaffee remains optimistic and is looking toward the positives.

After the cuts, GM will have the same amount of employees as it did six months ago, he said.

And, the 2010 release date for the new Chevrolet Cruze hasn’t been delayed, and GM is still keeping three shifts to make Cobalts and the Pontiac G5.

“I think it will be key to see who they lay off,” the mayor said. “If it’s senior hires, then it’s more of a temporary move. If it’s newer hires, that leads me to believe it’s more permanent.”

David Posey of Champion has been working for GM 35 years and has seen similar occurrences over the company’s history.

Posey was laid off in the past and was told it would be permanent, but “those jobs came back,” he said.

“Any time you lose jobs it hurts the economy, and we’re already hurting,” said Posey.

Though GM is planning to keep the third shift that brought in 1,400 employees in August, it is cutting back the assembly-line speed, which is similar to eliminating a shift, he said.

“I’m hoping that things might turn around before January,” said Posey.

GM employees aren’t the only people who could be affected by the cuts next year.

“Around here layoffs are bad because there are a lot of businesses that depend on production — restaurants, part shippers, suppliers ...” said Mark Allison of Lordstown, a GM employee for 31 years.

Allison believes that cuts are a result of the dip in fuel prices and the overall economy.

“If people don’t have money to spend, they are going to get by with what they have,” he said.

Elizabeth Trice, assistant manager of the Dairy Queen on Tod Avenue, has already experienced a decline in business and recently cut shifts.

“Whatever hurts them [GM], hurts us,” Trice said.

After hearing of the layoffs, the Lordstown Dairy Queen is preparing for a slow holiday season, she said.

Patrick Wallis of Lordstown works for Falcon Transport Co. and has delivered parts to the plant for more than a year.

“We heard something was coming,” Wallis said. “But we didn’t know what.”

“If [the assembly] is really slow, it could affect us,” he said.

It’s now a waiting game for Wallis, who said he won’t be overly concerned until he knows exactly what’s happening with the plant layoffs.

George Zupko of Youngstown has been with GM for eight years and, like Wallis, is trying to “roll with the punches.”

“The numbers could be worse,” said Zupko, noting that GM brought in more than 1,000 employees when it reinstated the third shift.

“Everyone has something to worry about with this economy,” he said.