GM ending shift at Ohio car plant amid sales slowdown

LORDSTOWN, Ohio – General Motors says it will eliminate a production shift at its Chevy Cruze manufacturing plant in Ohio that could cost as many as 1,500 jobs.

GM attributes the move announced Friday to falling sales of compact cars.

The automaker says it will cut second shift operations at its Lordstown factory outside Cleveland by the end of June.

GM officials say they won’t know for several weeks how many jobs will be eliminated because of buyout offers and other factors.

The automaker last year eliminated the plant’s third shift and stopped production altogether for several weeks during summer because of shifting demand from cars to trucks and SUVS.

GM projects this year’s Cruze sales to be on par with the 2017 total of 150,000 cars in the U.S.