The last compact car has rolled off the line at General Motors' massive assembly plant in Ohio as the automaker began moving toward its future while workers wondered about theirs.
Workers posted photos of the final Chevrolet Cruze making its way down the assembly line near Youngstown on Wednesday.
A GM spokesman said the last Cruze came off the line in Lordstown at about 3pm.
There was a somber mood inside the plant, where more than 50 years of car manufacturing came to an end.
There was a somber mood inside the General Motors plant in Lordstown, Ohio on Wednesday as the final Chevrolet Cruze rolled off the assembly line
The Cruze, which as been made at the plant since 2011, will still be made in Mexico for markets outside the U.S. The Cruze was the only vehicle made at the plant and will no longer be sold in the U.S. for now.
GM is eliminating all 1,700 hourly positions, perhaps for good, at the factory, which is the first of five North American auto plants that it intends to shut down by early next year.
The plant closings are part of a major restructuring for GM, which plans to shed as many as 14,000 workers and shift its focus to making trucks, SUVs and electric and autonomous vehicles.
Signs with sayings such as 'Save this Plant' were scattered outside the plant where about 100 workers gathered to say goodbye in the cold.
'It's frustrating,' said Jeff Nance, who has worked at Lordstown for 17 years. 'I'm angry and bitter. Watching that last car go by was a kick in the gut.'
Like many workers, Shaun Winkler said he's still considering whether to transfer to another GM plant where there are openings.
Amy Drennen, right, of Lordstown, Ohio, an employee at General Motors for 12 years, receives a hug from Pam Clark, as people gather in front of the General Motors assembly plant
GM Lordstown workers rally outside the GM Lordstown plant on Wednesday. The sprawling facility was idled after more than 50 years producing cars and other vehicles
GM Lordstown workers comfort one another after their last day of work at a rally outside the GM Lordstown plant on Wednesday
Chevrolet Cruzes are loaded for shipping at the GM Lordstown plant on Wednesday after last vehicle rolled down the assembly line
'It started out as a normal day, but when that last car came into our area, and there was nothing but empty racks behind it, then it got sad,' he said.
UAW 1112 President Dave Green said he took an emotional walk around the factory floor during the final shift.
'It's gut-wrenching. People were crying, they're frustrated and they feel like they've done everything right,' Green said.
The UAW claimed in a recent federal lawsuit that its existing contract prohibits GM from idling plants.
Green has urged workers to remain hopeful, saying their fate will ultimately be decided at the bargaining table. The UAW's national contract with GM expires in mid-September.
President Donald Trump and a coalition of Ohio lawmakers have been pressuring the automaker to find a way to bring new work to the plant, which employed 4,500 people just two years ago but has been down to one shift since last summer.
Trump has shown a particular interest in the Lordstown plant, singling it out as one he wants to stay open. It's in area of the state that will be important to him in the 2020 election, and it's where he told supporters at a rally last year that manufacturing jobs are coming back.
Amy Drennen, center, of Lordstown, Ohio, an employee at General Motors for 12 years, gathers with other supporters and laid off workers outside General Motors assembly plant
Chuck Rodriguez, a 19-year employee, (left) protests outside the plant on Wednesday with Barry Brown, a 25-year employee (right)
GM Lordstown workers comfort one another after their last day of work at a rally outside the GM Lordstown plant on Wednesday
Company President Mark Reuss said in January that GM is looking at a lot of different options for the plant, but it hasn't decided whether Lordstown could get a new vehicle.
GM can't operate a plant with a slow-selling vehicle like the Cruze, and have enough money to invest in the future, he said. It also doesn't want to get caught like it did in 2008 with too many factories and workers, a problem that helped push the company into bankruptcy protection.
'We've got some history of that, to be honest,' Reuss said. 'We don't want that history to repeat.'
Lordstown's history dates back to 1966. More than 16 million vehicles have come off its assembly line since then, including nearly 1.9 million Cruzes.
The automaker has said most of its blue-collar workers whose jobs are eliminated in the U.S. will be able to transfer to plants in the Midwest and South.
The other plants slated to close this year are assembly plants in Detroit and Oshawa, Ontario, and transmission plants in Warren, Michigan, and near Baltimore.
Link hienalouca.comhttps://hienalouca.com/2019/03/07/gut-wrenching-day-as-last-chevrolet-cruze-comes-off-line-at-general-motors-assembly-plant-in-ohio/
Main photo article The last compact car has rolled off the line at General Motors’ massive assembly plant in Ohio as the automaker began moving toward its future while workers wondered about theirs.
Workers posted photos of the final Chevrolet Cruze making its way down the assembly line near Youngstown on We...
It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.
Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
Dianne Reeves US News HienaLouca
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/03/06/23/10674128-6779869-image-m-11_1551914813723.jpg
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