GM-Workhorse talks for Lordstown raise questions

General Motors' potential sale of Lordstown Assembly to Workhorse Group Inc. for production of electric vehicles was hailed as "great news for Ohio" by President Donald Trump, but not everyone was celebrating.

While a deal, which remains far from complete, would keep jobs at the massive factory, the staffing would be a fraction of GM's 1,400 hourly workers on one shift — down from three shifts with 4,500 people three years ago.

There are several things that could fall through with the deal and many unknowns about Workhorse's plans for the plant. There also is little information so far about an affiliated third party, led by former Workhorse CEO Steve Burns, that would actually buy the factory.

Lordstown Assembly, at 6.2 million square feet, has a maximum capacity of 410,000 units, according to LMC Automotive — a massive order to fill for a cash-strapped company such as Workhorse, which this week reported first-quarter sales of $364,000.

"We've been paying attention to what they're up to. Obviously, they're an extremely small player and there are a lot of questions," said Jeff Schuster, president of global forecasting for LMC Automotive. "It's a big wild card, really. This legitimizes it a little bit further but it's a big unknown."

GM in March idled Lordstown, which had been producing the Chevrolet Cruze compact sedan, as part of a massive restructuring to reduce North American capacity.

The UAW held the line on its position that GM should assign a new product. UAW Vice President Terry Dittes, who heads the union's GM Department, had no praise for the deal or a separate announcement of a $700 million investment and the addition of 450 jobs at three GM locations in Ohio.

"In response to General Motors' announcement today, the UAW's position is unequivocal: General Motors should assign a product to the Lordstown facility and continue operating it," he said in a statement, citing a federal lawsuit the union filed against GM for the idling of the plant and two powertrain operations in Michigan and Maryland.

GM, as part of its national contract with the union, must negotiate any plant closure or sale with the UAW. Those conversations are expected to ramp up in July, ahead of the expiration of UAW-Detroit 3 contracts Sept. 14.

Workhorse, according to a source familiar with the plans, is open to employing union labor as part of the deal. A Workhorse spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.

Many Ohio politicians were cautiously optimistic about the potential deal and Workhorse's ability to fully use the factory and sustain employment.

"This is probably not yet a day to celebrate ... a lot has to happen," said Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, according to The Columbus Dispatch.

Part of the caution and skepticism involves the possibility of Workhorse being awarded a multibillion contract from the U.S. Postal Service for 180,000 trucks to be delivered over five to seven years at a price between $25,000 and $35,000 each.

The Loveland, Ohio, company is one of five finalists for the contract, but a Workhorse spokesman reportedly said the trucks may not be built at Lordstown, even if the company wins the contract and buys the factory.

Burns, in a joint release with GM on Wednesday, said the first vehicle to be produced at Lordstown would be a commercial electric pickup.

U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, an Ohio Democrat running for president, said the deal could be "very positive" for the region, despite it meaning GM no longer would operate the plant.

"As I've stated before, I worked as hard as possible to land another vehicle within the GM product line but that shouldn't damper the excitement around the possibility of producing in the Mahoning Valley the nation's first union-made, all-electric truck," he said in a statement. "The past couple years have been painful and heartbreaking for our community."

In 2017, Trucks.com said Workhorse built a pre-production work truck, called the W-15, in about nine months. The vehicle, according to the company's website, has an all-electric range of 80 miles as well as an internal combustion engine, or "range-extender," for further travel.