Production to cease at Ohio GM plant operating for more than 50 years

Car production will cease Wednesday at General Motor’s Lordstown, Ohio, plant after more than 50 years of operation.

GM announced in November that four U.S. plants, including the one in Lordstown, would be closed at some point in 2019.

The Cruze, a compact car made in Lordstown since 2011, will no longer be a built, but the plant will continue producing fenders and other replacement parts through most of March.

{mosads}GM spokesman Dan Flores told The Associated Press that the plant will remain in a “state of readiness,” as the company is expected to make a final decision on the closure after contract negotiations with the United Auto Workers (UAW) this summer.

UAW sued GM last month to keep the four plants open, arguing that their contract forbids the auto-manufacturer from shuttering the plants. 

A spokesperson for GM told The Hill that the plant closures “do not violate the provisions of the UAW-GM National Agreement.”

GM’s initial announcement to end production at the four American plants drew bipartisan backlash.

“We are now looking at cutting all @GM subsidies, including… for electric cars,” President Trump tweeted at the time, adding that he was “very disappointed.”

He also said that the company “is not going to be treated well” after the layoffs.

“This decision is corporate greed at its worst,” Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown (D) added in a statement.

About 400 of the 1,400 people no longer working at the Lordstown plant will transfer to other GM locations.

GM told CNN Business that an additional 350 Lordstown workers are eligible for retirement.

“We understand that the decision that was made is very difficult for this community because it impacts people and families,” Flores said.

“Unfortunately, customers are not buying the product at a volume that would justify continued production. In the end, we made this decision at a point in time where we have the ability to offer opportunities to people who want to keep working for GM.”