Trump wants GM CEO 'to do something quickly' to reopen Ohio plant

 

General Motors Chairman and CEO Mary Barra attends the reveal of the 2020 Cadillac XT6 SUV on the eve of press days of the North American International Auto show in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., January 13, 2019. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump tweeted on Sunday that he urged General Motors Co's chief executive to "do something quickly" to reopen the company's Lordstown, Ohio, plant that was idled more than a week ago.

 

"I am not happy that it is closed when everything else in our Country is BOOMING," Trump said.

 

Referring to his conversation with CEO Mary Barra, Trump added: "I asked her to sell it or do something quickly. She blamed the UAW union — I don’t care, I just want it open!" he tweeted.

 

Trump also tweeted on Saturday to urge GM to reopen the plant, saying: "Toyota is investing 13.5 $Billion in U.S., others likewise. G.M. MUST ACT QUICKLY. Time is of the essence!"

 

Earlier on Sunday, the United Auto Workers, which has filed suit challenging GM's decision to end Cruze production at Lordstown, thanked the president "for fighting alongside the UAW against @GM. We will leave no stone unturned to keep the plants open!"

 

GM said in a statement that it and the UAW would decide what happens to the plant.

 

"We remain open to talking with all affected stakeholders, but our main focus remains on our employees and offering them jobs in our plants where we have growth opportunities," it said. "We have opportunities available for virtually all impacted employees."

 

The last Chevrolet Cruze rolled off the assembly line on March 6 at Lordstown, the first of five plants in North America to end production this year, and ending U.S. production of the Cruze.

 

The idling of the Lordstown plant is costing 1,500 jobs there. Since 2017, GM cut two of the three production shifts there, eliminating 3,000 jobs amid sagging demand for small cars. GM is continuing to produce the Cruze in Mexico for other markets, but not for the United States.

 

The company has noted that over 400 Lordstown employees had accepted offers at other GM locations and that jobs were available at other assembly plants for anyone willing to relocate to other states.

 

The 6.3-million-square foot Lordstown assembly complex has manufactured more than 16 million vehicles since it opened in 1966, including nearly 2 million Chevrolet Cruze cars since 2010.

 

(Reporting by Diane Bartz and David Shepardson; Editing by Peter Cooney)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-03-18

I smell a Carrier situation. That didn't turn out too well.

Seems to me they are trying to bust the union

12 minutes ago, webfact said:

 

12 minutes ago, webfact said:

GM said in a statement that it and the UAW would decide what happens to the plant.

Car manufacture in Australia is dead both locally made ford and holden are no longer made .

Maybe Trump could do something to lower the cost of manufacturing autos in the USA? Like rescind the tariffs on steel? 

6 minutes ago, bristolboy said:

Maybe Trump could do something to lower the cost of manufacturing autos in the USA? Like rescind the tariffs on steel? 

Trump can tell GM to do what he does at Trump Org:  Hire illegals and pay them crap wages with no benefits.  Oh wait....

This is what you get when you PC yourself an unsuitable CEO in because of her gender, not her abilities.

2 hours ago, pedro01 said:

This is what you get when you PC yourself an unsuitable CEO in because of her gender, not her abilities.

 

I don't think anyone is longing for the days of "Chainsaw Al" Dunlap.

CEO of GM ought to tell Trump to reopen his casinos. Lots of people were employed at those places. Who cares if it makes no economic sense? So does Trump telling GM to listen to him over their own planning and finance people.

Well if Trump is being honest (lol) and the rest of the economy is thriving , these workers will have no problem relocating....whats the problem ?

6 hours ago, pedro01 said:

This is what you get when you PC yourself an unsuitable CEO in because of her gender, not her abilities.

Thats right , you need the best person for the job , multiple bankruptcies on ones CV is a good pointer apparently.

7 hours ago, webfact said:

Earlier on Sunday, the United Auto Workers, which has filed suit challenging GM's decision to end Cruze production at Lordstown, thanked the president "for fighting alongside the UAW against @GM. We will leave no stone unturned to keep the plants open!"

Yes, but turning over the stone that Trump was under is getting pretty desperate.

Well if Trump is being honest (lol) and the rest of the economy is thriving , these workers will have no problem relocating....whats the problem ?

Is the US economy doing poorly?


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Well this is a difficult issue.

 

While I feel greatly for the folks that have lost their jobs, it's American public at the root of it. 

 

SUV's, Pickups and Crossovers are what people want to buy, not the Cruze which was manufactured there.

 

There was a reason that Ford is stopping all sedan sales in North America with the exception of the Mustang, just because what the public want to buy.

 

Until GM comes up with a product people want to buy that can be manufactured there, Trump can talk all he wants, but Barra answers to shareholders, not him!

Edited March 18, 20197 yr by GinBoy2

The times they are a chang'in

i just have to ask- why does the president of the usa insert himself in a private companies business? don't they have the right to do as they please? would interfering be the dreaded socialism?  sounds like southing the leader of Venezuela would say lol.

12 hours ago, Briggsy said:

I smell a Carrier situation. That didn't turn out too well.

Agree, and I wonder how many times dt has shut down his own business ventures and/or laid off staff and whether they were compensated correctly?

1 hour ago, johnnykak said:

i just have to ask- why does the president of the usa insert himself in a private companies business? don't they have the right to do as they please? would interfering be the dreaded socialism?  sounds like southing the leader of Venezuela would say lol.

Well said, and I wonder how dt would react at being told something like this in regard to his own business matters?

Posts with false information have been removed.   Continued posting unverified information with no source or explanation will result in a suspension.  

8 hours ago, joecoolfrog said:

Thats right , you need the best person for the job , multiple bankruptcies on ones CV is a good pointer apparently. 

I know you meant that ironically, but it does play out that way sometimes.

(in the US at least)

 

Sometimes failure is part of the plan, a certain set of people find it to their personal advantage to set up a failure.  Not only in the corporate world but also geopolitics.  Hint: Donald Rumsfeld was not hired by the Cheney regime for his brilliance.

 

 

Edited March 18, 20197 yr by bendejo

9 hours ago, Sealbash said:

Is the US economy doing poorly?


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No , just not as well as Trump boasts it is. 

5 hours ago, johnnykak said:

i just have to ask- why does the president of the usa insert himself in a private companies business? don't they have the right to do as they please? would interfering be the dreaded socialism?  sounds like southing the leader of Venezuela would say lol.

Yeh but Trump is the bestest , cleverest person on earth , him getting involved is a boon for mankind????

1 hour ago, bendejo said:

I know you meant that ironically, but it does play out that way sometimes.

(in the US at least)

 

Sometimes failure is part of the plan, a certain set of people find it to their personal advantage to set up a failure.  Not only in the corporate world but also geopolitics.  Hint: Donald Rumsfeld was not hired by the Cheney regime for his brilliance.

 

 

 

Many people think Obamacare was set up to fail. The president and congress of the same party had only enough courage to kick the can down the road, and of course, reward their benefactors.

Edited March 18, 20197 yr by lannarebirth

18 hours ago, Tug said:

Seems to me they are trying to bust the union

 

Well for awhile it was the other way around. GM was paying Union laborers something like the equivalent of $75 an hour for being bolt monkeys. There is now way a guy who drives a bolt gun over and over and over doing one thing all day is worth that kind of money. 

 

Unfortunately the reality is if you do not have special skills all you can do is rent your time. 

 

Also as  others have said that factory was making a product nobody wants. GM had to cut this plant the car market is fiercely competitive. 

3 hours ago, Cryingdick said:

 

Well for awhile it was the other way around. GM was paying Union laborers something like the equivalent of $75 an hour for being bolt monkeys. There is now way a guy who drives a bolt gun over and over and over doing one thing all day is worth that kind of money. 

 

Unfortunately the reality is if you do not have special skills all you can do is rent your time. 

 

Also as  others have said that factory was making a product nobody wants. GM had to cut this plant the car market is fiercely competitive. 

I don't believe it was 75 an hour, that would be way out of proportion.

But you're supporting the market here, not your beloved president. 

4 minutes ago, stevenl said:

I don't believe it was 75 an hour, that would be way out of proportion.

But you're supporting the market here, not your beloved president. 

It is that after you include benefits like healthcare. Reciprocially matched mutual funds. That's the mutual part. The unions have largely put themselves out of business these days

 

Edited March 19, 20197 yr by Cryingdick

i just have to ask- why does the president of the usa insert himself in a private companies business? don't they have the right to do as they please? would interfering be the dreaded socialism?  sounds like southing the leader of Venezuela would say lol.

GM is not a private company. It is a public company.


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18 minutes ago, Sealbash said:

12 hours ago, johnnykak said:

i just have to ask- why does the president of the usa insert himself in a private companies business? don't they have the right to do as they please? would interfering be the dreaded socialism?  sounds like southing the leader of Venezuela would say lol.

GM is not a private company. It is a public company.

The obvious point is that GM is not a government entity.....or do you need to have everything explained to you?

1 hour ago, Cryingdick said:

It is that after you include benefits like healthcare. Reciprocially matched mutual funds. That's the mutual part. The unions have largely put themselves out of business these days

 

Oh no we can’t have a living wage nooooo omg and benefits oh noooo how can I keep the money for me oh nooooo what a pension oh nooooo they might live a nice life oh noooo

22 hours ago, Scott said:

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GM Bailout cost 12 Billion dollars.

 

Here's the source.

 

Through the Troubled Asset Relief Program the US Treasury invested a total $51 billion into the GM bankruptcy.^[91] Until December 10, 2013, the U. S. Treasury recovered $39 billion from selling its GM stake. The final direct cost to the Treasury of the GM bailout was $11^[92]-12 billion ($10.5 billion for General Motors and $1.5 billion for former GM financing GMAC, now known as Ally).^[93] Local tax incentives amounted to $1.7 billion, most of them in Michigan.^[94][95] A study by the Center for Automotive Research found that the GM bailout saved 1.2 million jobs and preserved $34.9 billion in tax revenue.^[93]

 

^{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_Chapter_11_reorganization}