GM
- President Donald Trump tweeted on Wednesday that GM would sell its Lordstown Assembly factory in Ohio to Workhorse, an electric truck maker.
- The Ohio factory had become a political issue in a state that was critical to Trump's 2016 election.
- GM said that it would provide additional details.
President Donald Trump took to Twitter on Wednesday to scoop General Motors on the news that the carmaker would sell its Lordstown Assembly plant in Ohio to electric truckmaker Workhorse.
GM didn't dispute the President's announcement when contacted by Business Insider, but the company said that it would provide additional details at a later time.
Lordstown Assembly was one of several facilities that were "unallocated" last year - auto-industry parlance for ending production, with no new vehicles planned for the factory.
The plant had been building the Cruze sedan, but amid flagging demand for four-doors in the US market, GM has reduced the workforce to a single shift.
"GREAT NEWS FOR OHIO!" Trump tweeted. "Just spoke to Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors, who informed me that, subject to a UAW agreement etc., GM will be selling their beautiful Lordstown Plant to Workhorse, where they plan to build Electric Trucks."
Trump added that GM would spend $700,000 in the state, which was critical for the President's election is 2016.
Workhorse is an Ohio-based manufacturer of electric delivery trucks and drones. The company has been financially challenged, according to reports, so it's unclear how the Lordstown factory purchase would be financed.
GM and the other two major US automakers, Ford and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, are entering negotiations with the United Auto Workers on a new contract later this year. For that reason, GM was unable to officially shutter the plant.
The automaker had, however, sought to offer relocation to workers who would be out of a job with the factory deprived of a vehicle to build.