Photo: Workhorse
At the end of last year, the American car company GM announced the closure of several of its plants as a means to cut cost and focus on its plans for the future. Among them, the Lordstown Assembly facility in Warren, Ohio.
With thousands of jobs under threat as a result of the decision, efforts began to find a possible buyer for the facility. This week, news of finding such a savior surfaced via unlikely sources.
On Wednesday, a few hours before the official announcement was made by GM, president Donald Trump tweeted the “great news for Ohio” and said Mary Barra, GM’s CEO, told him of the plant’s sale to electric van maker Workhorse.
“GREAT NEWS FOR OHIO! Just spoke to Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors, who informed me that, subject to a UAW agreement etc., GM will be selling their beautiful Lordstown Plant to Workhorse, where they plan to build Electric Trucks. GM will also be spending $700,000,000 in Ohio…,” the president said in his tweet.
A few hours later, GM’s official statement was released, and it is far less optimistic than that of Trump. The carmaker’s official position is that this is a “potential agreement,” and by no means a done deal.
“We remain committed to growing manufacturing jobs in the U.S., including in Ohio, and we see this development as a potential win-win for everyone,” said Mary Barra.
“Workhorse has innovative technologies that could help preserve Lordstown’s more than 50-year tradition of vehicle assembly work.”
Workhorse was born in 1998 and has a troubled history to it. It began as a company that made vans based on a GM platform. In 2005, it was taken over by Navistar, who got rid of it in 2012 as a result of financial losses. In 2015, it was taken over by AMP Electric Vehicles and set on a track that would eventually see it manufacture electric vans and trucks.
On Wednesday, a few hours before the official announcement was made by GM, president Donald Trump tweeted the “great news for Ohio” and said Mary Barra, GM’s CEO, told him of the plant’s sale to electric van maker Workhorse.
“GREAT NEWS FOR OHIO! Just spoke to Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors, who informed me that, subject to a UAW agreement etc., GM will be selling their beautiful Lordstown Plant to Workhorse, where they plan to build Electric Trucks. GM will also be spending $700,000,000 in Ohio…,” the president said in his tweet.
A few hours later, GM’s official statement was released, and it is far less optimistic than that of Trump. The carmaker’s official position is that this is a “potential agreement,” and by no means a done deal.
“We remain committed to growing manufacturing jobs in the U.S., including in Ohio, and we see this development as a potential win-win for everyone,” said Mary Barra.
“Workhorse has innovative technologies that could help preserve Lordstown’s more than 50-year tradition of vehicle assembly work.”
Workhorse was born in 1998 and has a troubled history to it. It began as a company that made vans based on a GM platform. In 2005, it was taken over by Navistar, who got rid of it in 2012 as a result of financial losses. In 2015, it was taken over by AMP Electric Vehicles and set on a track that would eventually see it manufacture electric vans and trucks.
GREAT NEWS FOR OHIO! Just spoke to Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors, who informed me that, subject to a UAW agreement etc., GM will be selling their beautiful Lordstown Plant to Workhorse, where they plan to build Electric Trucks. GM will also be spending $700,000,000 in Ohio...
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) 8 mai 2019
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