(30 Nov 2018) ANNOTATED TEXT:
General Motors said it will cut up to 14,000 workers in North America and marked five plants for possible closure. On the list was the Lordstown plant in Ohio, which had seen previous rounds of layoffs.
Tommy Wolikow had been laid off, and his last day of work was on the same day as President Donald Trump's inauguration.
STORYLINE:
Tommy Wolikow followed in his father's footsteps to work at General Motors in Lordstown, Ohio, before he was laid off. His last day of work was on the same day as President Donald Trump's inauguration. He's among the workers waiting to see what happens following the company's announcement that it will cut up to 14,000 workers in North America.
GM also marked five plants for possible closure, including the Lordstown plant, which previous rounds of layoffs already have left operating with just one shift, and once-full parking lots that now sit largely empty.
The 36-year-old father of three was among the crowd at a 2017 rally in Youngstown where Trump told the crowd he planned to bring back jobs.
"Don't sell your house," the president said – and Wolikow took him at his word. But then things only got worse.
Wolikow started traveling to Trump rallies to draw attention to the troubles in Lordstown and elsewhere where he says promises haven't been kept. But he says even he will support Trump again if he sees some action, not just words.
"If you here get jobs back here in our community ... you'll have my vote," he said.
Working-class voters bucked the area's history as a Democratic stronghold and backed Donald Trump in 2016, helping him win the White House with promises to put American workers first and bring back disappearing manufacturing and steel jobs.
Whether they stick with him after the GM news and other signs that the economy could be cooling will determine Trump's political future.
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