Middletown vs. Moeller
Pyramid Hill light show preparation
Were you spotted tailgating?
GM-Moraine's impact is significant
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
MORAINE — Michael Davis, economic development director for Moraine, is working on the latest numbers, but one thing is certain: The economic impact of the local GM plant's closure won't be insignificant.
With some 2,500 employees, the SUV assembly plant straddling Stroop Road is by far Moraine's largest employer, Davis said. GM on Tuesday June 3 said it will cease production at the Moraine plant and three other truck and SUV facilities in North America by 2009 or 2010.
Extras
Moraine's second largest employer is the GM-Isuzu DMAX truck engine plant, which has just over 1,000 employees, then the Berry Co., with 600 to 700 employees, Davis said.
Tony Cervone, a GM spokesman, said the automaker was trying to determine how GM and allied plants that support other GM plants scheduled for closure might be affected. He would not specifically address the DMAX engine plant.
"We expect it to take from several weeks to a little bit longer than that," Cervone said.
In 2006 — in the latest numbers available from GM — the GM-Moraine facility paid $17 million in state and local taxes. In 2005, that number was $15.8 million, GM said. In 2004, the number reached $20.1 million, according to the automaker.
More recent numbers weren't immediately available. But Davis estimated that the income tax contribution to Moraine government alone was in the millions before GM cut a third shift at the plant in the summer of 2006.
"They are our largest employer, and the impact goes beyond the city of Moraine's borders because of where the workforce lives," Davis said.
Indeed, Dave Hicks, Moraine city manager, said the GM-Moraine plant has 103 suppliers in 75 different Ohio communities alone. That number goes up when suppliers outside Ohio are counted, Hicks said.
Those suppliers include Plastech Engineered Products Inc. Last week, well before GM's Tuesday announcement, Ohio government said Plastech has announced that it will end the employment of 88 people at its Dryden Road facility this summer.
Other GM suppliers locally include Jamestown Industries in Moraine and Johnson Controls in West Carrollton.
Kettering City Schools Superintendent Bob Mengerink said a GM-Moraine closing will affect "everyone."
"In just state revenue, we get $500,000 annually in real estate property taxes," Mengerink said. "But the real impact is the jobs and families that are losing their income, and there are children now in situations where they are facing really dire economic constraints. We're more concerned about that than anything else."
He did not know exactly how many students and families in his district will be affected.
Staff Writer Kristin McAllister contributed to this story.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2390 or tgnau@DaytonDailyNews.com.
