What GM did not say

Hope springs eternal whenever the topic of discussion is the future of General Motors’ Lordstown plant. That’s because the past year or so hasn’t exactly inspired confidence about the viability of the massive assembly complex that makes the compact Chevrolet Cruze.

Thus, on Sept. 22, when workers gathered in the plant for what was billed as a major announcement, there was a brief moment of fantasizing about the introduction of a new product to replace the slow- selling Cruze.

But then reality raised its ugly head.

The news emanating from Lordstown wasn’t the headline-grabber Valley residents desired. Instead, leaders of the two unions – United Auto Workers Local 1112 at the assembly plant and UAW Local 1714 at the fabricating plant – talked about a merger.

The resultant one local union, which will have a membership of about 3,000, is expected to save GM a lot of money.

“It goes back to making tough decisions that can better us in the future,” said Robert Morales, president of Local 1714. “We have proud retirees and active members, and it’s going to be a challenging time. Knowing that it betters our situation, it somewhat makes the situation a little better.”

How did GM’s big shots react to the labor unions going the extra mile to cut costs at the assembly complex?

You decide.

Here’s the statement from corporate:

“Lordstown employees have been notified of planned adjustments and manufacturing and administrative operations at the complex. Hourly employees will be receiving additional information pertaining to these plans from their union leadership.”

Noncommital

Talk about a statement that says nothing.

Union leaders tried to put a positive spin on the merger decision by contending that the UAW had received the following commitment from GM: So long as the Chevrolet Cruze is built in North America, the GM assembly complex in Lords- town will be its home.

To state the obvious, the global automaker that has been an integral part of the Mahoning Valley’s economy for more than 50 years did not give Valley residents a reason to break out the bubbly.

As everyone in this region knows, production of the Chevrolet Cruze has hit a major bump in the road.

Demand for the car has been soft for many months, triggering the elimination in January of the third shift at the Lordstown plant, a three-week shutdown in March, a two-week vacation at the end of June, three weeks in July and a shut- down last week.

There was to have been another downturn this week, but the company revised the schedule and production of the Cruze will resume.

But it’s anybody’s guess how long the Lordstown facility will be churning out what has been one of the best-selling vehicles in GM’s fleet.

The reason for the slowdown in production comes down to supply and demand. There are just too many cars waiting to the sold and not enough customers to buy them.

Trucks and SUVs, on the other hand, are hot items.

In the words of Kurt McNeil, U.S. vice president for sales operations at GM, “Changing customer tastes have driven us to refocus our business on higher margins, faster-growing segments, like crossover segments. We are launching the most all-new crossovers in our history to take full advantage of the changes occurring in the U.S. marketplace.”

Thus the question: Why isn’t General Motors telling the people of the Mahoning Valley to rest assured that the Lordstown plant is very much a part of the company’s future plans and will be retooled to accommodate another model?

It isn’t a ridiculous question, considering what’s going on in other plants.

For instance, GM announced that it was laying off the third shift at its Spring Hill, Tenn., SUV factory as it deals with a slowing U.S. auto market.

About 1,000 people work on the overnight shift, but not all will lose their jobs when it ends Nov. 27.

But the blow has been softened by the announcement that the company is investing $294 million in the factory to produce a new Cadillac SUV. According to the Associated Press, the SUV will be a compact to give GM’s luxury brand an entry in the hottest part of the U.S, market.

“The Spring Hill plant makes the Cadillac XT5 and GMC Acadia midsize SUVs, both of which have had strong sales this year,” the wire service reported. “XT5 sales more than doubled compared with the first eight months of 2016, while Acadia sales are up 45 percent.”

But GM isn’t the only auto manufacturer that is reassessing its product line and re-engineering its production facilities.

Ford has announced it is shifting production of its compact car, the Focus, in 2019, from its assembly plant in Wayne, Mich., to China.

But here’s the kicker: Ford is investing $850 million in the Wayne facility to build the Ranger midsize pickup and the Bronco SUV.

So when the meeting of GM’s Lordstown workers occurred a week from last Friday, there were a lot of fingers crossed in the Mahoning Valley.

Unfortunately, the best the company would come up with is a commitment to continue making the Chevrolet Cruze at its Lordstown complex as long as the compact car remains part of the fleet.

But what happens if GM decides to discontinue the current model and does not replace it with the next generation of the Cruze? Is there a compact SUV or a small truck in the offing?

General Motors isn’t saying.

The rumor mill, on the other hand, is running overtime. GM is going to shut down the plant permanently, some claim. The company is going to shut down for a year for retooling, say others. The plant will remain open indefinitely, but production of the Cruze will be hit-and-miss until demand for compact cars grows, optimists suggest.

But no one knows for sure – not even President Donald Trump, who told Valley residents he would make the American auto industry great again.