Nearly 1,400 laid off at Ohio truck plant days before Trump rally
In short
Nearly 1,400 workers were laid off Wednesday at a truck factory in Springfield, Ohio, three days before President Donald Trump's rally at a nearby high school. The reports say the cuts were large enough to basically erase an entire year of job growth in the greater Dayton area. Laid-off worker Kyle Bos, a United Auto Workers member, said he had voted for Trump three times but now plans to canvass for Democrats.
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Nearly 1,400 workers were laid off from a truck factory in Springfield, Ohio, three days before President Donald Trump's rally on Saturday at a nearby high school, according to the reports. The documents say the layoffs occurred on Wednesday, Sept. 30, and were large enough to basically erase an entire year of job growth in the greater Dayton, Ohio, area. PBS NewsHour, the New York Post and Newsweek all report the figure of nearly 1,400 laid off. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Newsweek, citing a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification filing with Ohio authorities, reported that more than 1,300 employees were expected to lose their jobs as part of International Motors' agreement to sell the Springfield Assembly Plant and Truck Specialty Center to Canadian vehicle manufacturer Roshel. Newsweek said the Springfield facility opened in 1966. PBS NewsHour and the New York Post describe the site as what had been the Navistar truck factory; the documents do not reconcile the difference in company names. [ 2 ]
Kyle Bos, 30, a member of the United Auto Workers who identifies as a centrist, told the Associated Press that he has two daughters, with a third due in January, and that five items at the grocery store now cost as much as a full cart once did. Asked how many times he had voted for Trump, he held up three tattooed fingers, but said he is done with the president. “Something has to change politically in this country,” Bos said. He plans to spend the final weeks before the November election canvassing votes for Democrats. [ 1 , 3 ]
Trump's Ohio visit was part of an extended series of campaign events aimed at persuading voters that economic conditions are improving, Newsweek reported. At a truck plant in Texas on Thursday, Trump said: “All over the country, they're building factories, plants—manufacturing's coming back. The only thing we're doing badly at is public relations.” [ 2 ]
PBS NewsHour and the New York Post framed the November election as a test of the working-class coalition that lifted Trump into the White House and gave Republicans majorities in the House and Senate, with the outcome decided in places like Dayton, which they said has a population of 137,000. An Ohio Senate race could help determine control of the chamber, the two outlets reported, with Republican Sen. Jon Husted facing former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown. [ 1 , 3 ]
Why it matters
The layoffs erase roughly a year of job growth in the Dayton region and put labor discontent at the centre of Ohio's midterm campaign. The documents note that an Ohio Senate race could help determine control of the chamber and frame the November vote as a test of the working-class coalition that elected Trump. Newsweek ties the cuts to a plant sale agreement, rather than to broader economic conditions alone.
Key facts
- Nearly 1,400 workers were laid off from a truck factory in Springfield, Ohio, on Wednesday, Sept. 30. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- The layoffs came three days before President Donald Trump's rally on Saturday at a nearby high school. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- The cuts were large enough to basically erase an entire year of job growth in the greater Dayton, Ohio, area. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- PBS NewsHour and the New York Post describe the site as what had been the Navistar truck factory, while Newsweek ties the layoffs to International Motors' agreement to sell the Springfield Assembly Plant and Truck Specialty Center to Canadian vehicle manufacturer Roshel, citing a WARN filing. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Laid-off worker Kyle Bos, 30, a UAW member who identifies as a centrist, said he had voted for Trump three times and now plans to canvass for Democrats. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Ohio's Senate race pits Republican Sen. Jon Husted against former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown. [ 1 , 3 ]
- Trump said Thursday at a truck plant in Texas that manufacturing is coming back and that the only thing being done badly is public relations. [ 2 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Nearly 1,400 workers were laid off at the truck factory in Springfield, Ohio. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- The layoffs occurred three days before Trump's Saturday rally at a nearby high school. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- The job cuts were large enough to basically erase a year of job growth in the greater Dayton area. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Kyle Bos, a UAW member, said he voted for Trump multiple times and now plans to canvass for Democrats. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Still unclear
- Whether roughly 1,400 or just over 1,300 workers lost their jobs. PBS NewsHour, the New York Post and Newsweek cite nearly 1,400 laid off, while Newsweek separately reports that more than 1,300 employees were expected to lose their jobs under the WARN filing; only Newsweek cites the filing.
- Which company operated the plant at the time of the layoffs. PBS NewsHour and the New York Post call it what had been the Navistar truck factory, while Newsweek refers to facilities formerly operated by International Motors and to a sale of the Springfield Assembly Plant and Truck Specialty Center; the documents do not reconcile the names.
- Whether the layoffs were caused by the plant sale. Only Newsweek links the job cuts to International Motors' sale agreement with Roshel, and it notes public filings tie them to a corporate transaction rather than a sudden closure driven by economic conditions alone.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Nearly 1,400 workers are laid off from the truck factory in Springfield, Ohio, three days before Trump's scheduled rally. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- PBS NewsHour publishes its report on the layoffs and the Ohio political backdrop. [ 1 ]
- Newsweek reports on the layoffs ahead of Trump's rally in the Dayton area. [ 2 ]
- The New York Post publishes its account of the layoffs. [ 3 ]