Outlook for Lordstown plant and its workers 'secure and flexible'

YOUNGSTOWN

The outlook of the Lordstown plant and its workers became more secure and flexible Friday when General Motors announced it is investing $50 million to build the next generation of the Chevrolet Cruze in the Mahoning Valley, a United Auto Workers official said Friday.

“It speaks volumes for the team members and the complete confidence” that GM has in them, said Glenn Johnson, president of United Auto Workers Local 1714.

To date, GM has spent more than $600 million to build its top-selling compact car in Lordstown, and Friday’s announcement shows the company plans to stay in Lordstown for the foreseeable future, he said.

But when GM announced its initial investment of $351 million to shift production at the plant from the Chevrolet Cobalt to a new, fuel-efficient compact sedan, success was anything but guaranteed.

The Cobalt wasn’t selling well, and a poorly run GM was creeping toward its 2009 bankruptcy and subsequent government takeover and restructuring.

At the time, workers were “very skeptical of the situation” and wondered if the plant could even survive, Johnson said.

But GM doubled down on its investment. In 2011, the company spent $5.5 million to improve the facility’s stamping and body shops, and the following year it announced $200 million would go toward tooling and equipment for the Cruze’s remodel.

Today, Lordstown is running three shifts of production, with a Saturday shift scheduled for later this month. The Cruze is GM’s second-best selling vehicle overall, and analysts and officials acknowledge that it was a crucial part of the company’s rebound from the federal bailout of Detroit.

Jay Williams, former Youngstown mayor and the Obama administration’s “auto czar,” in February touted Lordstown as the “go-to plant for the corporation in its crisis time and its decision to restructure.”

UAW workers had to take a number of concessions to keep production going, including cutting shifts, but the Cruze rolled out to a positive reception.

The plant also helped GM transition into a segment of the auto industry that it had long ignored.

Read more in Saturday's Vindicator.