What Happens to a Factory Town When the Factory Shuts Down?
For more than 50 years, life in Lordstown, Ohio, revolved around the G.M. plant at the edge of town. In March, the plant ceased production. This is what their crisis looks like.
By LaToya Ruby Frazier and
![<strong>Kesha Scales, 46</strong><br /><em>Metal assembly</em>
<p>I’m a little hardened because of the factory work. I know I am. When I got hired in, it was so loud in there that you had to wear earplugs; you couldn’t hear anything. It was dirty, and you smelled like oil. But you also smelled like something else — you smelled like production. You smelled like you made some money today. If you can make it working at G.M., you can make it working anywhere.</p>
<p>The feeling in the plant my last day was eerie, because nobody knew what to say. That’s why I was so hellbent on trying to get out of there as fast as I could. I didn’t want to see that last Cruze — I just didn’t. I walked out, and I didn’t look back. I didn’t want to look back. I just kept saying to myself, “This is the last time you’re going to make this trip, from somewhere that you’ve been going for 22 years.” I was so loyal to G.M., but it’s just a game to them.</p>
<em>With her friend and former co-worker Beverly Williams.</em>](https://cdn.statically.io/img/static01.nyt.com/images/2019/05/04/magazine/04mag-gmworkers-slide-X9HJ/04mag-gmworkers-slide-X9HJ-jumbo-v3.jpg?auto=webp)