Ohio gave General Motors some $60 million in state tax credits for its Lordstown operation. Now the state's Attorney General is demanding the company pay the state back.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost says the state gave General Motors $60 million back in 2009 with the promise that the company would maintain its operations through 2028. But the company closed that plant, which manufactured the Chevy Cruze, last year.
Now, Yost has a message for GM: “Yea, we want our money back," Yost says.
Yost says the bottom line is GM didn't do what it promised. If the company is allowed to keep the money, it will have "carte blanche to walk away from its other Ohio tax incentivized operations. And so will every other business," Yost stated in a written brief to the Ohio Tax Credit Authority.
GM later announced it would build a new electric battery cell factory in the same area, but with far fewer jobs. The automaker said it hopess the state take into account its significant manufacturing presence in Ohio.
Yost says the GM closure caused the loss of nearly 8,000 jobs and $8 billion in regional economic activity. If GM fails to repay the state, Yost says he’s prepared to take the matter to court.
