On June 3, 2008, Rick Wagoner, then chairman and CEO of General Motors, announced that, in response to lagging sales, the Moraine Assembly Plant would close sometime before the end of 2010. The plant’s only product was the GM mid-size SUV and the recent spike in gasoline prices resulted in a huge decline in sales. The company had already reduced the number of employees in the plant by almost half in 2006 when production was reduced by one shift from three to two. This news was not shocking to many at the plant. With the high gas prices, most knew it was only a matter of time and began to make plans for the closing.
The shock for workers at the plant came when, only four months later on October 3, 2008, GM announced the plant would close for good on December 23, 2008. Not only was it a shock to the employees but also to the city and county governments. Local officials had hoped that GM would consider retooling the plant for a new product. Employees who had made plans based on having two years to prepare for a job loss were disappointed. Two months was not enough time to save and prepare to be unemployed.
The final day of production was difficult for many. The majority of the workers that were left after the year-long production cuts had been at the Moraine Assembly Plant since, at least, 1995. Some employees had forged friendships within the plant that would be difficult to maintain after the plant closed. Employees came from all over the Miami Valley and as from far away as Kentucky and Indiana to work there and it would be hard to keep up friendships with people that lived an hour or two away.
To read more about the final months of the Moraine Assembly Plant and the reactions of workers visit:
