The New York Times | By Reuters
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said Tuesday that General Motors Co should repay $60 million in state tax credits after it closed its Lordstown Assembly plant in March 2019.
In a brief to the Ohio Tax Credit Authority, Yost said GM in 2009 agreed to maintain operations at its northeast Ohio plant through 2028 and retain 3,700 jobs through 2040 in exchange for the credits. “We demand the money that is rightfully owed to Ohio – no more, no less,” Yost said in a statement.
Yost’s filing said GM did not fulfill its contract. “Does any rational person believe that, if the shoe were on the other foot, GM would shrug and walk away from $60 million it paid under a contract when the other party chose not to deliver?”
Yost cited a 2019 study that GM’s Lordstown closure resulted in the loss of nearly 8,000 jobs and more than $8 billion in local economic activity, while the local school district had relied on the plant for 10% of its budget.