Ohio -- The news that General Motors will lay of 14,700 workers and put five plants up for possible closure across North America hits close to home here in Ohio. 

The company’s Lordstown plant, a fixture in the northeast part of the state for more than 50 years, will close in the spring unless GM allocates a new product to the factory. 

The Monday morning announcement has already had a ripple effect on the community.

 “One of my customers came in and picked up some work we did for him, and he said ‘did you hear the news,’" said Bill Walls, who owns B&B Automotive in Warren. "I go ‘no,’ he said ‘Lordstown announced today that they’re going to close the plant.’ I about fell over.”  
 
As of March 1, the Lordstown plant won’t have any product allocated to it, which means they’ll stop producing the Chevrolet Cruze at that time.
 
Walls said the loss of roughly 1,500 jobs could devastate the local economy.

“The jobs at Lordstown support a lot of other jobs in the area, so they’re going to suffer, also," he said.

As the news soaked in, local officials held a press conference at the hall of Union Local 1112, the group that represents the plant's workers.

That's where Rick Holloway was Monday afternoon. 

Recently retired from the plant after more than 40 years working in the body shop, he said he wouldn't recommend for young people today to take the same path he did. 

“I’d tell them, go back and learn a trade, ‘cause I don’t know if the auto industry has anything more for them today," he said. 

Union president Dave Green said employees are in a "bad place" after hearing the news, explaining how intertwined they are to the fabric of the community.  

“A lot of our members do things outside of work, like work at animal charities, work at their churches, the Scouts, coach their kids’ teams, so there’s a social impact here too, as well as financial one," Green said.
 
Green’s part of a push dubbed the “Drive it Home” campaign, a group of local leaders aiming to convince GM to give the plant new life with a new vehicle. 

Between now and that spring deadline, Green said the goal is to get union members as much information about their options, including relocation and retirement, as possible.