Valley lawmakers go to GM headquarters to talk about Lordstown

DETROIT — A group of Mahoning Valley elected officials traveled to General Motors headquarters in Detroit this week to talk about the GM Lordstown plant.

The delegation included state Sen. Sean O’Brien of Bazetta, D-32nd, and state Reps. Glenn Holmes of McDonald, D-63rd, and Michael O’Brien of Warren, D-64th. The lawmakers met with GM executives.

“With the recent reduction in shifts and the decline in sales of the [Lordstown-built Chevrolet] Cruze, our legislative delegation thought it was critical to sit down with GM officials to discuss matters face-to-face,” said Sean O’Brien. “We wanted to express our desire to work with GM to increase sales of the Cruze and keep the Lordstown plant in consideration for any future vehicle development.”

A news release on the meeting notes there has been “concern” among Valley residents about the future of the plant, as two shifts have been eliminated in less than two years as sales of the Cruze have declined.

“GM’s corporate executives said several times how impressed they were that we made the drive to the Detroit headquarters,” said Michael O’Brien. “As leaders in the global automotive industry, General Motors executives are very willing to continue the conversation we initiated this week.”

The lawmakers met with GM’s North America vice president of public policy, executive director of North America government relations, director of local government relations, and director of state government relations.