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GM's Lordstown Plant Looks to the Future of the Cruze As Second Shift Is Eliminated

A photo of Lordstown GM.
WKSU
Union leaders in Lordstown hope to convince GM to send more product to the plant in Lordstown, which will begin building the third generation Chevy Cruze later this year.

GM’s Lordstown plant is down to one shift starting tomorrow, as the plant faces a downturn in demand for the once-best-selling Chevy Cruze

Lordstown lost its third shift last year, and earlier this year, GM said it was cutting about 1,200 workers on the second shift.

Dave Green is president of UAW Local 1112, representing workers at the plant. He says about half the people on the second shift have opted for early retirement, and he’s still working to convince GM to send more product to Lordstown and bring back jobs.

“We’ve worked hard with management to make sure that we’ve put the complex in a competitive arrangement so that the corporation can make money on the product. We just are looking for the corporation to invest in the members that are making the sacrifices to help them make that money.”

Green says difficult decisions have already been made, such as combining the plant’s two union locals, outsourcing some jobs to other facilities and restructuring the plant’s healthcare plan.

Kabir Bhatia is a senior reporter for Ideastream Public Media's arts & culture team.