Layoffs Hit Autoworkers Hard As Market Tightens Its Belt

Wall Street is fretting that the U.S. auto industry is heading for a downturn, but for thousands of workers at General Motors factories in the United States, the hard times are already here.

Matt Streb, 36, was one of 1,200 workers laid off on Jan. 20 -- inauguration day for President Donald Trump -- when GM canceled the third shift at its Lordstown small-car factory here. Sales of the Chevrolet Cruze sedan, the only vehicle the plant makes, have nosedived as U.S. consumers switch to crossovers, SUVs and pickup trucks.

Streb is looking for another job, but employers are wary because they assume he will quit whenever GM calls him back. "I get it," said Streb, who has a degree in communications, "but it's frustrating."

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TheSteve - 6/22/2017 12:06:45 PM

+4 Boost

Just a reminder that this is a global phenomenon. Personally, I believe it's a long-term shift away from old trends we saw in previous decades, in which young and middle-aged, "upwardly mobile" Baby Boomers with lots of disposable income were inclined to spend a lot of that money on "stuff", like getting a new car every few years. Remember the 1980s and 1990s and the term "Yuppies"? That's gone now.

Just as a data point, the average age of a car on the road in the US is 11.4 years at this time, and that number is getting bigger.

Vette71 - 6/22/2017 2:47:06 PM

+2 Boost

An interesting sideline to this phenomena is it means there will be lots of human driven vehicles on the road as autonomous vehicles invade the fleet for decades to come. It will make things interesting.

LexSucks - 6/22/2017 5:44:07 PM

+3 Boost

Yes... Trump is doing such a good job. lol!!

MDarringer - 6/22/2017 11:17:35 PM

-5 Boost

So it's Trump's fault that automakers have products that the consumers don't want?

Hauerg - 6/23/2017 4:37:16 PM

+1 Boost

If numbers were up he definitely would claim it as a result of him being the bestest president ever. Maybe FDR ...

MDarringer - 6/23/2017 5:34:32 PM

-1 Boost

@Hauerg Typical illogical response from a Liberal moonbat. The point is the the sales of some cars is collapsing because manufacturers have the wrong products on sale. Trump didn't cause that. Obama didn't cause that.