Inauguration Day Pink Slip Day For 2,000 GM Autoworkers

LORDSTOWN, OH — Some 2,000 General Motors factory workers in Lordstown, Ohio, and Lansing, Michigan, lost their jobs Friday in pre-announced cuts, the same day President Donald Trump became the nation’s 45th commander in chief. Trump had campaigned heavily in both Ohio and Michigan, promising to save Rust Belt jobs and impose steep tariffs on automakers that import parts and vehicles made at plants in Mexico.

Workers who lost their jobs on Inauguration Day — 1,200 of them in Ohio — are looking to the new president to fight for their jobs. Many of them had broken ranks with their union leaders, supporting Trump instead because he promised to rewind trade agreements that allow manufacturers to move jobs out of the country, where labor is cheaper.

In early January, Trump tweeted his support for the Lordstown workers, warning GM that his administration would impose a “big border tax” if hatchback models of compact sedans manufactured in Mexico continue to cross the border. GM began selling the hatchback model in the U.S. market with the 2017 model year.

GM did not immediately respond to Patch's request for comment on the layoffs that became effective Friday.

Robert Sheridan, a father of three whose family was able to buy their first house on his $25-an-hour job he is now losing, has joined other autoworkers in a direct appeal to Tump to save their jobs. Such jobs are highly coveted in comparison with other area factory jobs paying between $9 and $12 an hour, Sheridan told CNN.

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“Trump’s tweets really gave us hope,” Sheridan, who has worked at GM for seven years, told CNN.

In a combative inaugural speech, Trump spoke to the Rust Belt states that have shed millions of jobs since the North American Free Trade Alliance opened trade borders.

“One by one, the factories shuttered and left our shores without a single thought about the millions and millions of workers left behind,” Trump said. “That is the past. Now, we only look to the future. From this day forward, a new vision will govern our land. From this day forward, it’s only going to be America first.”

GM said in November it was eliminating the third shift at its Lordstown plant and cutting jobs in Michigan plants where Chevy Camaro and Cadillac ATS and CTS vehicles will continue to be made.

In June, the automaker said demand for the Cruze vehicles was so strong that the three shifts at the Lordstown Complex couldn’t keep pace. In a statement, the automaker said it was using an existing production plant in Mexico to augment U.S. production.

“In an effort to meet customer demand for the Chevrolet Cruze, GM will be utilizing existing production capacity in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico, to supplement production at its plant in Lordstown, Ohio,” the company said. “Cruze vehicles are continuing to arrive in dealers across the U.S. and Canada, and we expect that dealer inventories will increase this month. In May, Cruze retail share was up 2 percentage points and its average transaction price was up substantially from last fall.”

At the Detroit Auto Show earlier this month, General Motors Chairman and CEO Mary Barra said GM is staying put in Mexico, where cars are being produced under deals put together years before.

“This is a long-lead business with high capital-intensive investments, decisions that were made two, three and four years ago,” Barra told reporters at the North American International Auto Show.

Photo via General Motors