GM plant closures to hit far, hard
TOLEDO, Ohio — The sting from a major restructuring at General Motors and its planned closings of five North American factories in the coming months is putting thousands of jobs at auto parts suppliers at stake, as well.
While GM expects nearly all its U.S. blue-collar workers whose jobs are being eliminated to have an opportunity at relocating to factories that are adding jobs, that won’t be the case for many in the supply chain who make parts, drive trucks, work in warehouses and keep GM’s plants operating.
For most of them, there is no safety net.
“There’s nowhere to transfer. They’ve got nowhere to go. They’re just out of work,” said Dave Green, a union leader near Youngstown where GM in early March plans to shut down its factory that makes the Chevrolet Cruze compact car.
GM’s labor agreements guarantee its workers transfer rights and relocation money, but that’s not true for the wide majority of suppliers, even where the workers are represented by unions.
“We’ve been lost in the shuffle,” said Brian Shina, who lost his supplier plant job when GM cut a shift at its Lordstown factory in May, months before announcing plans to close it. “We don’t have any leverage here.”
The dominoes already are starting to fall. A plant that makes seats for the Cruze and another business that does logistics and warehousing work for GM in Ohio will close in March too. Just three years ago, those two had a combined 800 workers. Acqualina Resort & Spa on the Beach in Sunny Isles was named the top resort
2019 U.S. News & World Report ranking of best hotels.
Report: South Florida has No. 3 resort in nation four pools and spa. Last month, the resort introduced its new “Grand Deluxe Three-Bedroom Oceanfront Suite.” Located on the 32nd floor, the suite provides views of the Atlantic and Miami skyline.
The magazine touted the Four Seasons Hotel in Surfside for its “floor-toceiling windows,” and “marble bathrooms” and upgraded rooms with wraparound balconies overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.” Researchers also noted the family-friendliness of the resort such as “the designated family pool, the kids program, the child-sized robes and the available babysitting services.”
U.S. News & World Report revealed its rankings of the best hotels in the country this week, and two South Florida resorts received lofty honors.
Acqualina Resort & Spa on the Beach in Sunny Isles was picked third among “Best Resorts in the USA” behind two in Hawaii. It was also ranked sixth in the magazine’s “Best Hotels in the USA” list.
The Four Seasons Hotel at The Surf Club in Surfside ranked third in the “Best Hotels” category.
Both lists were topped by the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai in Hawaii.
U.S News & World Report is best known for its annual roundup of top colleges and universities. For this research, it considered the hotels’ reputations “among professional travel experts, guest reviews and hotel class ratings.” The magazine highlighted Acqualina for its attention to guests “to personalize each experience” for them. The publication also noted the resort’s trio of eateries on the premises, Gucci has pulled its turtleneck black wool balaclava sweater.