President Trump Has Strong Message for GM After Ohio Plant Closure

Colin Fredericson
By Colin Fredericson
March 18, 2019US News
share
President Trump Has Strong Message for GM After Ohio Plant Closure
(L) President Donald J. Trump speaks at the White House in Washington, D.C. on March 14, 2019. (Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty Images); (R) GM Lordstown workers rally outside the GM Lordstown plant in Lordstown, OH on March 6, 2019. (Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)

President Trump urged the CEO of carmaker GM to reopen a recently closed Ohio plant or to find another owner.

In a tweet on March 17, Trump criticized the company after 1,700 people lost their job due to the plant’s closure.

“Just spoke to Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors about the Lordstown Ohio plant. I am not happy that it is closed when everything else in our Country is BOOMING. I asked her to sell it or do something quickly. She blamed the UAW Union — I don’t care, I just want it open!” Trump tweeted.

The plant closure devastated locals who have depended on the plant for employment for over 50 years.

“They get $2.3 billion in profits in this last quarter, going to have almost $10 billion for the year. This is what they do to us now? After a huge tax cut that they just got? What more do you want from the American people?” Congressman Tim Ryan told News 5.

The reason for the plant’s closing has been blamed on the company ceasing production of the Chevy Cruze car. President Trump commented on the issue months before the closure.

“They say the Chevy Cruze is not selling well. I say, well, then get a car that is selling well and put it back in,” Trump told reporters in November, via News 5. “I have no doubt that in the not too distance future they’ll put something else… they better put something else in.”

President Trump was the first Republican President to win Trumbull County, the county where the auto plant is located, in a presidential election since Herbert Hoover in 1928.

“This country has been good to GM, with the rescue of the auto industry less than a decade ago. They’ve been immensely profitable. President Trump just gave them a huge tax cut. They’re taking those dollars and building in Mexico. They should be held accountable for this,” said U.S. Rep. Sherrod Brown, via News 5.

President Trump again tweeted on March 18 regarding the issue.

“General Motors and the UAW are going to start ‘talks’ in September/October. Why wait, start them now! I want jobs to stay in the U.S.A. and want Lordstown (Ohio), in one of the best economies in our history, opened or sold to a company who will open it up fast! Car companies are all coming back to the U.S. So is everyone else. We now have the best Economy in the World, the envy of all. Get that big, beautiful plant in Ohio open now. Close a plant in China or Mexico, where you invested so heavily pre-Trump, but not in the U.S.A. Bring jobs home!” wrote Trump.

The plant ceased production on March 6, The Detroit News reported. President Trump is expected to make a campaign stop in Ohio in a few days.

The Ohio plant closure is said to be part of an effort by GM to save money and put finances into electrification, autonomy, and mobility projects. The Lordstown plant has built only Chevy Cruze cars since 2010.

Due to an agreement in place between GM and the United Automobile Workers union, some of the workers were transferred to plants in other parts of the United States. However, the region is expected to suffer from the impact of the local economy built up around people who worked at the factory.

ntd newsletter icon
Sign up for NTD Daily
What you need to know, summarized in one email.
Stay informed with accurate news you can trust.
By registering for the newsletter, you agree to the Privacy Policy.
Comments