Sunday, February 7, 2010

(Editorial) Our Opinion: GM was good for Richland County

The end of operations at the General Motors Corp. Mansfield/Ontario Metal Center also was the end of a way of life for workers and their families around Richland County.

On Friday, production ceased and the “top-of-the-line” machines used for stamping GM auto parts fell silent for the first time in more than 50 years.

The news of its construction in 1955 brought mixed emotion for many residents. Greeted with open arms by city planners, GM promised jobs, growth and economic stability. Others saw the plant as yet another factory that sped urban sprawl in northern Ohio.

But for good or ill, GM did bring growth.

By 1956 production at the new factory was under way, a new rail line addition was completed in 1964, and the factory continued to expand through 2005.

For those 50 years, our community benefited from all that GM brought to the area. Schools saw new facilities, homes were built in new neighborhoods and business came to town, bringing with it a diversified economy that led to better job stability.

But in 2006 things began to unravel financially for GM. That year the company sold off 51 percent of its stake in GMAC Financial Services.

In 2007, the company reported losses of $38.7 billion.

When gas prices topped $4 per gallon in 2008, the company said it would close four pickup and sport utility vehicle factories, shed 8,350 jobs and sell its Hummer brand. Later that year, executives sought help from the government. In December the company received $13.4 billion, but posted a $30.9 billion annual loss.

In March of last year, when President Barack Obama told the company it had not done enough to restructure, it was apparent that the Ontario plant was doomed.

United Auto Workers shop chairman Ron Willis described the situation best Thursday.
“We’re on the Titanic,” Willis said. “We’re just trying to find a lifeboat.”

GM filed for bankruptcy in June and announced the eminent closure of the Ontario plant.
To the credit of GM, it did what it could to retain as many jobs as possible. Unfortunately, it meant relocation for families that had built lives here.

What the future brings is uncertain. It isn’t likely that we will see another GM-type of operation soon, but as local leaders work to attract more jobs we remind them of the reasons GM located here in the first place. At the top of that list is the people.

Life for our residents will continue and we will look back at the GM days as a good time in our community’s long history.

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