FeedsRomulus plant spared in GM bankruptcy plan
There was a collective sigh of relief in Romulus this week when the GM Powertrain plant was not among those to be closed by the automaker as part of the company bankruptcy filing.
“I’m thankful that this plant and these workers are staying in Romulus, but we are not taking a break from our objective of saving existing jobs and bringing new jobs to Romulus,” commented Mayor Alan Lambert.
Lambert joined state and federal officials in a tour of the plant Tuesday morning to discuss jobs in the area. He spoke with Gov. Jennifer Granholm, U.S. Congressman John Dingell, Department of Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, Director of Recovery for Auto Workers and Communities Ed Montgomery, State Rep. Doug Geiss and Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano.
“Jobs are our number one priority,” said Lambert who has been working with Granholm and federal officials on economic initiatives to bring growth and new jobs to Romulus.
“I want to thank those in attendance here today,” Lambert said, “with a special thanks to the GM employees and union workers for their dedication, hard work and sacrifice during these trying times.”
According to Romulus Economic Development Director Tim Keyes, the close of the plant would have been a serious blow to the tax base in the city.
“If they were to close the Powertrain plant, our lives would change overnight,” Keyes said last month.
At that time, Lambert also expressed his concern about the threat to the community tax base posed by any such closing.
“We’ve managed to do more with less and tighten our belts and provide eight consecutive balanced budgets with no layoffs or cuts in service,” he said recently, “but that closing would hurt.”
