A lot of good that does the ~4,000 workers affected in Lordstown that lost jobs over the past few years during the downsizing and the recent closure.
Lordstown closing hurts, but sadly its also not surprising. GM as much as they want to claim they are the “new” GM, is still a piss poor run organization.
The Cruze, which it built, was cancelled. Small cars aren’t something that sell well... and retooling it to make something folks truly want, when GM is sitting on insane underutilization system wide, wasn’t likely to happen. I believe they were down to 1 shift, meaning the plant was idle 2/3 of the time...
http://www.vindy.com/news/2018/jul/28/will-gm-close-lordstown-auto-plant/
They already make the hatchback version in MX, so, keeping that large facility open with so much underutilization makes no sense. About the only thing that would change the calculus would be MASSIVE TARIFFS on imported vehicles, however given the Cruz’s total sales were dropping like a stone, so much so the entire vehicle was cancelled, that’s would not have likely changed much.
I hope the plant is put back in operation quickly by someone, and GM doesn’t just sit on it for 5 or 10 years empty... like it has been known to do.
I don’t know if any auto companies are looking to open new plants in the states, but generally they tend to go south where laws are more friendly... rather than up here, where laws and unions tends to make things more difficult for them.
Lordstown built an unpopular car... Sadly. The entire vehicle has been cancelled from the Chevy lineup. Lordstown closing, sadly isn’t surprising... it was down to 1 shift if memory serves, and building a car that wasn’t selling.
Retooling an older underutilized plant, when you already have more extra capacity than anyone else in the industry just wasn’t likely to happen. End of the day beancounters win.
I just hope GM doesn’t just sit on the plant for years before they even try to let someone else do something with it, as they have been known to do. No guarantee someone will be chomping at the bit to buy it, but I’d hate to see it just sit empty for years and not even be attempted to be moved.