GM to Cut Hundreds of Chevy Cruze Jobs in Ohio

GM will cut hundreds of Chevy Cruze jobs at an Ohio plant, the automaker announced Friday afternoon.

The Lordstown plant, which employs approximately 3,000 workers, is dedicated to the manufacture of only the Cruze, a compact car that’s been a part of the Chevy lineup since 2008.

The reason for the move is decreased sales, CNBC reported. Although demand for pickups, SUVs, and crossovers are up 7 percent, sales of sedans have taken a 13.2 percent tumble in the United States. 

The research firm Autodata reported Cruze sales have plummeted even further, CNBC said. This year they’re down 28 percent.

General Motors sold a dismal 184,000 Cruze models in 2017, compared to 273,000 in 2013 — a 32 percent drop in sales. This prompted the Lordstown facility to cut its assembly line from round-the-clock shifts to two per day in early 2017.

But the slack from the depressed sedan sales is being taken up with increased sales of other model types.

"The broad range of utilities available, whether it be based on size, price, or technology, now rivals the choice among sedans and continues to grow," Tom Libby, from the London-based financial services company IHS Markit, told CNBC. 

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