As manager of Madison’s longest-operating Chevrolet dealer, Tom Thorstad has toured the General Motors plant in Janesville many times and remembers well the friendly faces of those working on the assembly line.
“It’s hard work standing there all day, but they took a lot of pride in what they did,” he said. “I was always impressed how they took the time to look up and wave at you.”
So Thorstad was obviously saddened Tuesday when he got the news that General Motors was closing four truck and SUV plants, including its iconic manufacturing facility in Janesville, which first which opened in 1919. Some 2,600 workers there are expected to lose their jobs over the next two years as the plant is shuttered.
Quoted: Laura Dresser, a researcher with the UW-Madison Center on Wisconsin Strategy