Nov 29, 2018 3 min read

Northeastern Ohio has taken its share of lumps as a result of the decline of manufacturing over the last four decades.

Over the years, the Mahoning Valley lost an estimated 50,000 to 100,000 manufacturing jobs with the downturn of the steel industry.

But through the years, there has always been one prominent reminder about America’s manufacturing muscle.

Anyone driving west on the Ohio Turnpike just a few miles from the Pennsylvania state line can’t help but notice the sprawling 6-million-square-foot factory built on nearly 1,100 acres of land that resembles a miniature city. The General Motors Lordstown Complex, which is 75 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, most recently produced the Chevrolet Cruze and has been an economic driver for the region for decades.

In fact, the factory just celebrated it 50th anniversary two years ago, producing 15.8 million vehicles – mostly Chevrolets, Pontiacs and Cadillacs – and averaging 866 per day every day since the first one rolled off the assembly line in April 1966. During that joyous three-day celebration in May 2016, the plant was showcased as a vital economic engine for this region, employing 4,500 people, while nearly 10,000 retirees from the factory still lived in the area.

It didn’t take long for a pall to be cast over that golden anniversary.

Over the past two years, GM has culled the workforce at the Lordstown Complex. It eliminated the third shift in January 2017 and then reined back to just a single shift earlier this year, slashing the workforce to a fraction of what it was just a few years ago.

Then, the real bad news came Monday when GM announced it would no longer allocate production to the factory – corporate speak for closure – along with four other plants in North America. In total, about 14,000 workers will be laid off with GM idling the five plants, including the remaining 1,500 union workers at Lordstown.

The company said the changes are necessary as more people are buying SUVs instead of small sedans like the Cruze. It also announced that it will be devoting more resources to manufacturing more electric vehicles and autonomous cars that don’t need a driver.

General Motors can hardly be blamed for halting the production of a vehicle few people have been buying, but its corporate missteps have caused grievous harm to a community that could use a few breaks. After the American taxpayers bailed out the reeling automaker a decade ago – leading to the moniker of Government Motors – and the passage of last year’s huge tax cut windfall for major corporations that were supposed to invest it back into their businesses, this week’s announcement really feels like a broken promise.

It also flew in the face of President Trump’s claims that his policies are bringing manufacturing back in a big way. As we can see now, his administration’s policies aren’t bringing back the jobs that had been lost overseas decades ago.

But locally, GM’s decision is a punch to the gut that goes beyond just pride. This is bound to have a domino effect, with job losses hitting businesses in the Mahoning Valley that depend on the Lordstown plant.