There were two GM-related press releases issued and an unscheduled event at the White House on Monday. One press release was from GM. The other, more interesting press release was from the Ohio Development Services Agency. The White House event was, uh, we’ll get to that.
I invite you first to read part of GM’s press release:
General Motors announced today plans to invest $71 million into two Ohio manufacturing facilities, including $39 million at its Toledo transmission plant and $32 million at its Defiance casting plant. Work will begin immediately at the two locations. These investments will enable GM to retain 240 good-paying U.S. manufacturing jobs.
GM also was sure to mention Lordstown:
Since 2009, GM has invested more than $3.3 billion in Ohio. Separately, GM and LG Chem formed a joint venture – Ultium Cells LLC – and together are investing more than $2.3 billion to build a new, state-of-the-art battery cell manufacturing plant in Lordstown that will create more than 1,100 new jobs. Construction of the facility is underway. The new battery cell manufacturing plant will play a critical role in GM’s commitment to an all-electric future.
[…]
In addition, GM has continued its commitment to the Lordstown community by working closely with Lordstown Motors Corp. since May 2019 to support the launch of its Endurance pickup. The acquisition of Lordstown Motors by DiamondPeak Holdings Corp. is expected to close during the fourth quarter and the company will be listed on the Nasdaq. GM is investing $75 million in the company, which includes the sale of the former Lordstown Assembly plant and production equipment.
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Which sounds great! Except the Ohio Development Services Agency also wanted to talk about the Lordstown thing, specifically, about how GM now owes Ohio a small pile of money because of Lordstown:
General Motors will be required to invest $12 million in the Mahoning Valley by the end of 2022, and refund $28 million in tax credits. In 2008, the company entered into Job Creation and Retention Tax Credit agreements which resulted in the issuance of $60.3 million in tax credits.
[…]
General Motors was approved for a Job Retention Tax Credit in exchange for a commitment to retain 3,700 employees in Lordstown. The company did not maintain its commitment to retain the jobs through 2028.
GM also received a Job Creation Tax Credit to create 200 new jobs at the Lordstown facility by 2010. The company exceeded its commitment by creating more than 800 jobs but did not maintain operations at the facility through 2037 as required by the agreement.
You can be sure that $28 million is pocket change for a company that had $8.4 billion in operating profits last year, but I’m happy for the state of Ohio.
Which brings us to the White House, where Trump lives some of the time. Possibly because there’s a presidential debate Tuesday in Cleveland, Lordstown Motors paid a visit.
Video of Trump and the truck:
Trump, you see, loves trucks.
