GM closing will have far-reaching impact
Sunday, December 21, 2008
DAYTON — The closing of General Motors' Moraine assembly plant on Tuesday, Dec. 23, will ripple through the region in many ways.
In addition to costing more than 1,100 hourly workers their jobs, the plant closing likely will add to a rising local tide of foreclosures, spur the shedding of more jobs at GM suppliers, erode corporate charitable giving, and increase demand at health-care clinics for the uninsured and other social-service agencies.
"With more local breadwinners losing their income, it will eventually impact some of their ability to stay on top of their mortgage," said Beth Deutscher, executive director of the HomeOwnership Center of Greater Dayton.
Of nearly 1,000 homeowners who sought foreclosure prevention services so far this year at the HomeOwnership Center, 54 percent were falling behind on their mortgage primarily because of a loss or reduction of income.
"Many people assume foreclosures are happening with people that bought 'too much house,' but that's just not the case in our community," Deutscher said. "It's long-term homeowners who are facing the loss of their homes. It's a much more tragic story for the people going through it, and for our neighborhoods."
The region will feel the GM plant closing's impact in other ways in the coming months.
Jayne Klose of the United Way of the Greater Dayton Area noted AFL-CIO food pantries were inundated by an exponential increase in demand during the American Axle strike early this year. Much demand came from the families of those working for suppliers of GM, which closed for 2½ months during the strike.
"That was a very telling sign for us," Klose said.
