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UAW unions announce no line slowdown to come at Lordstown
By Kalea Hall
LORDSTOWN
The speed of the assembly line at the General Motors Lordstown Assembly Complex will not be slowed this summer.
The union locals representing about 3,000 workers at the complex announced via Face-book on Tuesday they were able to indefinitely postpone the scheduled assembly-line slowdown in mid-July.
“Your leadership has been in Detroit meeting with the corporation discussing volume of the Chevy Cruze,” the United Auto Workers Local 1112 announcement reads. “This will preserve jobs and allow us to pursue our GMS [Global Manufacturing System] journey uninterrupted.”
UAW Local 1714 posted a similar note to its Facebook page.
“This postponement preserves jobs and is a result of ongoing joint efforts to improve the competitiveness of the Cruze in the marketplaces and volume opportunities for Lordstown,” the Local 1714 post reads.
UAW Local 1112 President Glenn Johnson and UAW Local 1714 President Robert Morales did not comment on the announcement, deciding to wait until after they speak directly to their members in meetings next week.
GM does not comment on production, but a spokesman said the plant “continues to build to market demand.”
GM announced in April the Lordstown plant would slow down the line to reduce the supply of the Cruze, a compact car. The slowdown was to occur after a four-week scheduled shutdown during the last two weeks of June and first two weeks of July.
Several hundred layoffs were anticipated to occur with the slowdown, a GM spokesman said.
The lower demand for compact cars led GM to the original decision to once again adjust production.
In January, GM announced it would cut the third shift at the plant. The cut cost more than 600 jobs on the assembly side and about 235 on the fabrication side of the complex. Initially, 1,202 hourly positions were to be affected by the loss of the third shift.
GM brought a third shift to Lordstown in 2010 for production of the first-generation Cruze.
In 2016, Lordstown launched production of the second-generation Cruze.
The Facebook announcements led to questions.
“Your leadership ask for your patience and understanding as we work through the details,” the Local 1112 announcement reads.