What’s next for GM workers after plans to close southwest Ohio site

Hundreds of workers are expected to be affected by General Motors’ plans to close its service and parts operations facility in West Chester Twp. and move that work to Michigan.

The closure will be effective September 2019, said Brian Martin, president of United Auto Workers Local 696, the union which represents hourly workers at the facility.

“They will allow those people to follow the work, because the work is not going away, it’s just moving to Burton, Mich.,” Martin said.

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Martin was not certain if GM had filed a WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) notice with the state of Ohio about its plans for the facility. Nothing about the Meridian Way facility appeared on the Ohio WARN notice site Thursday.

“There are about 240 union or hourly employees here,” Martin said. “At some point, they will come out with a package. They haven’t done that yet.”

Negotiations are ongoing, he said. The West Chester facility has about 300 people, including union workers and management.

“The positive is, we didn’t lose the work,” Martin said. “We just have to follow it. The negative is, it’s four hours away.”

Although GM will close the Meridian Way facility, the company will have a continued presence in West Chester at 8752 Jacquemin Drive, Southwest Ohio’s only production facility solely owned by GM, township officials said Thursday.

A GM spokesman said Thursday he would try to gather information to answer questions, including why the company decided to relocate its workforce at the West Chester facility.

GM first invested in West Chester in 2000 when the company constructed a 384,000-square-foot building at 8752 Jacquemin Drive.

For that investment, the automaker received an enterprise zone agreement, which has since expired, according to township officials. In 2008, GM leased additional, separate space at 9287 Meridian Way in West Chester to conduct a different aspect of their operations.

“Anytime we hear news of job loss, first of all our thoughts are with those who are being affected by the job loss,” said Aaron Wiegand, economic development director for West Chester Twp. “They’re not just numbers, they’re not just pictures on a screen. There’s real people being affected by this.”

The township works closely with OhioMeansJobs, Butler County’s job service placement team, to try to mitigate the negative effects of that job loss whenever it happens, Wiegand said.

West Chester tried to intervene to keep GM from leaving, reaching out to company officials once it received word, Wiegand said.

“A company the size of GM puts plans into motion well before any local community is made aware,” he said. “The township had met with GM on a standard visit in July of 2015 and had no indication of any changes.”

Weigand said West Chester historically has among the lowest tax burdens for companies due to having no earnings or income taxes.

While the eventual closing of the facility leaves township officials disappointed, they said they believe in the West Chester market and the ability to find new jobs for those who are affected, he said.

“The township, Cincinnati State and the chamber have talked about opportunities where situations would occur where a business is having to close for various reasons,” said Joe Hinson, president and CEO of the West Chester-Liberty Chamber of Commerce. “We recognize that we’re in the people business. We’re here to help and support the people.”

It was reported on Wednesday that GM will offer some 18,000 North American salaried workers buyouts. Layoffs appear to be possible if the company doesn’t see enough buyout participants.

GM is also a co-owner in the DMAX diesel truck engine plant in Moraine, a plant which has about 800 workers. GM owns 60 percent, and Isuzu Diesel Services of America, Inc. owns 40 percent of the DMAX Joint Venture.

On Wednesday, GM reported a 25 percent increase in pre-tax profit in the third quarter of 2018, seeing net income of $2.5 billion. Revenue increased 6.4 percent to $35.8 billion during the quarter, the company reported.

The automaker said third-quarter global profit margins also reached 8.8 percent, including 10.2 percent in North America.