Tim Ryan sends letter about Mexico production to GM CEO Mary Barra

WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Howland, D-13th, today decried General Motors’ decision to build its Chevrolet Blazer in Mexico instead of the U.S.

The announcement last week came as the local GM Lordstown plant, which builds the Chevrolet Cruze, was laying off about 1,200 workers.

Ryan today released a statement on GM’s decision, and shared a letter he sent to GM CEO Mary Barra.

“So much for the Republican tax giveaway being an incentive for corporations to invest in America. I’m extremely disappointed in GM’s decision to build the Chevy Blazer in Mexico,” Ryan said in the statement. “This decision is an insult to hard-working families all across the country. Thousands of GM workers in America – including the second and third shifts at Lordstown – who have been permanently laid off are hearing the news that GM is sending jobs to Mexico instead of putting people back to work here. It’s outrageous.”

“I urge GM to reverse their decision and bring the production of Chevy Blazer to the United States,” he said.

In his letter to Barra, Ryan said he was “very disappointed” at GM’s decision to build in Mexico, noting his support for the federal government’s bailout of the auto industry during the Great Recession.

The announcement “proves that while there is plenty of investment in the 15,000 production workers in Mexico – and their sub-par wages of less than $4 per hour – more can and should be done by GM to position the Lordstown plant for the next 20 years,” Ryan wrote.