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| Buyer of G.M. Lordstown Plant Promises Union Work and Wages | Buyer of G.M. Lordstown Plant Promises Union Work and Wages |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| General Motors has sold its factory in Lordstown, Ohio, to a company that says it will make electric pickup trucks with union labor at wages comparable to those of the Detroit automakers. | General Motors has sold its factory in Lordstown, Ohio, to a company that says it will make electric pickup trucks with union labor at wages comparable to those of the Detroit automakers. |
| The price was not disclosed. | The price was not disclosed. |
| The announcement on Thursday came less than two weeks after G.M.’s union workers approved a new contract, ending a strike in which the future of the factory, idled this year, was a central issue. | The announcement on Thursday came less than two weeks after G.M.’s union workers approved a new contract, ending a strike in which the future of the factory, idled this year, was a central issue. |
| The buyer is Lordstown Motors, a start-up that says it plans to hire some 400 workers next year and start production of an electric pickup designed for commercial fleets. | The buyer is Lordstown Motors, a start-up that says it plans to hire some 400 workers next year and start production of an electric pickup designed for commercial fleets. |
| Steve Burns, the founder of Lordstown Motors, said the company would give preference in hiring to the plant’s former G.M. workers. | Steve Burns, the founder of Lordstown Motors, said the company would give preference in hiring to the plant’s former G.M. workers. |
| “We think it is appropriate that it is union,” Mr. Burns said. “Our goal is to hire those folks first who have experience and are still in Lordstown.” | “We think it is appropriate that it is union,” Mr. Burns said. “Our goal is to hire those folks first who have experience and are still in Lordstown.” |
| Lordstown Motors expects to begin hiring workers next fall and start production by the end of 2020, Mr. Burns said. Workers will probably earn the top U.A.W. wage of about $31 an hour, he added. “We will be paying the same as the Big Three are paying,” Mr. Burns said. | Lordstown Motors expects to begin hiring workers next fall and start production by the end of 2020, Mr. Burns said. Workers will probably earn the top U.A.W. wage of about $31 an hour, he added. “We will be paying the same as the Big Three are paying,” Mr. Burns said. |
| In a statement, G.M. said it believed that Lordstown Motors “has the potential to create a significant number of jobs and help the Lordstown area grow into a manufacturing hub” for electric vehicles. | In a statement, G.M. said it believed that Lordstown Motors “has the potential to create a significant number of jobs and help the Lordstown area grow into a manufacturing hub” for electric vehicles. |
| In its discussions with the U.A.W., G.M. prevailed in its determination to close the Lordstown plant, but it pledged to locate a battery factory in the area that would create about 1,000 jobs. The Lordstown plant, which most recently made the Chevrolet Cruze, once employed 3,000 workers. | In its discussions with the U.A.W., G.M. prevailed in its determination to close the Lordstown plant, but it pledged to locate a battery factory in the area that would create about 1,000 jobs. The Lordstown plant, which most recently made the Chevrolet Cruze, once employed 3,000 workers. |
| The U.A.W. did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the sale and the plans outlined by Mr. Burns. | The U.A.W. did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the sale and the plans outlined by Mr. Burns. |
| The pickup that Lordstown Motors says it will build was developed by Mr. Burns’s previous company, Workhorse Group, based in Cincinnati. Mr. Burns left that business to start a venture to produce the electric pickup while Workhorse focused on an electric delivery truck. | The pickup that Lordstown Motors says it will build was developed by Mr. Burns’s previous company, Workhorse Group, based in Cincinnati. Mr. Burns left that business to start a venture to produce the electric pickup while Workhorse focused on an electric delivery truck. |
| Lordstown Motors has orders for 6,000 trucks from Duke Energy and 18 other companies that operate large fleets, Mr. Burns said. | Lordstown Motors has orders for 6,000 trucks from Duke Energy and 18 other companies that operate large fleets, Mr. Burns said. |
| Financing for the factory purchase was provided by Brown Gibbons Lang & Company, an investment bank based in Cleveland. Lordstown Motors said that with the bank’s help, it hoped to recruit strategic investors as it builds a new assembly line at the plant. |