Ryan writes letter to GM CEO protesting Mexico production

Staff report

WASHINGTON

A Mahoning Valley congressman and a U.S. senator are speaking out against General Motors’ decision to build its Chevrolet Blazer in Mexico, an announcement made as the GM Lordstown plant laid off about 1,200 workers.

U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Howland, D-13th, on Monday decried the 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,” Ryan said. “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 at a plant in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico.

Ryan wrote 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.”

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Cleveland Democrat, spoke about the matter on the Senate floor Monday night.

“On the very same day GM laid off the entire second shift at the historic Lordstown plant in the Mahoning Valley, we got word that GM plans to build its new Chevy Blazer in Mexico,” Brown said, noting community pride in the Lordstown plant and the car it makes, the Chevy Cruze.

“After Ohio gave millions to this company, GM is turning its back on Ohio – all while making record profits and reaping the rewards of the tax bill,” he said. “We’ve invested in GM. It’s time for GM to invest in Ohio.”