Brown is Calling on GM to Use Massive Windfall from Recent Tax Cuts to Keep Ohio Jobs
Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) demanded answers from General Motors (GM) after the company announced plans to lay off 1,500 Ohioans at the Chevy Cruze plant in Lordstown, and eliminate potentially hundreds of additional auto supply chain jobs across Ohio. In a letter to General Motors CEO Mary Barra, Brown condemned the announced layoffs and urged GM to reverse their decision, and use the tax windfall the company got from recent tax cuts to invest in its facility and the workers in Lordstown.
“This decision will be devastating to the families and communities of the workers whose lives will be impacted, and it is particularly galling after your company received massive tax benefits from the recent enactment of the corporate tax cut bill,” said Brown. “I urge you to reverse this decision and instead invest your tax windfall in the facility and workers in Lordstown.”
In the letter, Brown demands answers to what impact the Lordstown layoffs will have on GM’s supply chain throughout the state and whether additional layoffs are expected.
After the GOP Tax overhaul, GM’s tax rates were reduced from 35 percent to 21 percent. Despite tax cuts and a 2016 Security and Exchange Commission report that shows the company is doing well, layoffs were still announced last week.
Brown’s letter comes as a USA Today article found that tax cut savings are not flowing to American workers as promised after passage of the GOP Tax bill.
Full text of Brown’s letter to GM can be found here.
The demand for passenger cars, such as the Chevrolet Cruze, has been decreasing due to the popularity of sport utility vehicles (SUVs).
In 2012, non-luxury cars had 40.9 percent of the market share and non-luxury crossovers/SUVs had 25.6 percent.
In comparison, in 2017, non-luxury cars had 29.2 percent of the market share and non-luxury crossovers/SUVs had 35.1 percent, according to Kelley Blue Book data.
The switch, analysts say, is because of lower gas prices, better fuel economy in the crossovers/SUVs and prices.
Now, GM did get a very large bail-out from the Obama Administration, so one would think they would be a bit more patriotic in return for the Democrats’ taxpayer-funded handout to them. Maybe not though. Maybe they will continue to move production to places like Mexico.