LORDSTOWN, Ohio – Just over a week after it announced plans to cease production at its Lordstown assembly facility in March 2019, General Motors is looking to add weekend shifts to its current schedule at the plant.
On Thursday, a spokesperson for GM’s North American Manufacturing and Labor division confirmed the Lordstown plant “is exploring adding some weekend production shifts in January.” According to the spokesperson, inventory of the Lordstown built Chevrolet Cruze is low and dealers asked the company for extra production to rebuild their stocks and ensure they have inventory for as long as possible.
In November, GM announced plans to halt production at Lordstown, and four other assembly plant as part of a “global restructuring” as it moves away from production of sedans across all of its brands. The once-bustling Trumbull County factory already has lost two of its three shifts and 3,000 union jobs since last year.
Since then Ohio lawmakers have urged the company to reconsider, however GM says aside from the additional shifts it has no updates relative to last week’s announcement.