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Kasich Says He's Still Working With GM, But No Comparison Between Lordstown Shutdown And NCR Loss

Karen Kasler
Gov. John Kasich talks to reporters after the opening of an exhibit featuring Ohio's two constitutions.

Gov. John Kasich says he’s still working with officials at General Motors on the planned shutdown of the Lordstown assembly plant in March, but isn’t offering promises that it can be halted. And he’s also firing back at those who’ve been critical of his response.

Kasich said the shutdown is a painful loss, but it’s pure economics.  And he says it’s not comparable what happened with the departure of NCR from Dayton, which Kasich blasted Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland for repeatedly in his successful campaign to defeat Strickland in 2010.

“Anybody who would suggest that clearly doesn’t know much about business. NCR just moved, and sometimes companies are going to move.”

Kasich says he’s not giving up, but he doesn’t want to give false hope to the Lordstown community.  Kasich is suggesting that a new purpose for the facility is a more likely option than a new car line. He says that happened in at a former GM facility in Dayton, where he says more people are now employed by an auto glass manufacturer than worked for the automaker when it shut down there.

Contact Karen at 614-578-6375 or at kkasler@statehousenews.org.
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