GM To Sell Lordstown Plant To Startup Electric Truck Company

General Motors Co. GM planned to announce Thursday that it has sold its Lordstown, Ohio plant to an electric truck startup, Bloomberg reported.

Terms of the deal with Lordstown Motors Corp., which was created to buy the GM plant, weren't disclosed.

Shares of Workhorse Group Inc. WKHS, which created the affiliated Lordstown Motors and said it planned to have a minority stake in it, shot up nearly 30% on the news. Former Workhorse CEO Steve Burns now leads Lordstown Motors and the companies share intellectual property related to electric-drive systems, according to the Bloomberg report.

Plant Became Political Symbol

The plant near Youngstown, which built the Cruze sedan for GM and had been open for more than a half century before closing in the spring, became a symbol in the political fight over the changing global economy and President Trump's promises to restore manufacturing jobs. Trump went to the area in 2017 and told workers that jobs like those at Lordstown would be saved, and suggested they not move away.

In GM's recently completed contract negotiations with the United Auto Workers, the union was unable to persuade the company to keep the plant, which it opened in 1966. The UAW opposed sale of the plant.

But the new owners could mean the return of a significant number of jobs eventually. Workhorse said in May when it announced negotiations aimed at buying the factory that the move had the "potential to bring significant production and electric vehicle assembly jobs," to the northeast Ohio community to build commercial electric fleet trucks.

Burns told Bloomberg, however, that the company has to raise significant cash now. No timetable for when the trucks might begin production in Lordstown has been released.

Workhorse Shares Up

Workhorse shares closed up 27.24% at $3.13. GM shares were up 0.18% at $38.49.

Related Links:

Pence Boosts Hopes In Lordstown, Workhorse Stock With Comments On Idled GM Plant

Workhorse Group Raises $25M To Fund R&D, Completion Of Electric Van

Public domain photo via Wikimedia.