GM Lordstown plant to shut down for 6 weeks, by Robert Schoenberger, Cleveland Plain Dealer, April 24, 2009
Lordstown, Ohio—General Motors' sprawling Lordstown plant will shut down at the end of May and won't reopen until mid-July, but it will escape the worst of the troubled automaker's extended shutdowns.

Local business owner says country at stake, by Jon Chavez, Toledo Blade, April 24, 2009
Toledo—David Feniger, president of American Posts LLC, which has a 130,000-square-foot factory and warehouse at 810 Chicago St. in Toledo, is launching his own modest buy-American awareness campaign.

Environmental Capital Blog: What will cap-and-trade do to employment? by Keith Johnson, Wall Street Journal, April 24, 2009 (Subscription)
Washington—One big issue is emerging as the flashpoint of the whole debate over climate legislation: Is it a job-killer or a job-creator?

Diebold began with bank vaults, now focuses on ATMs, by Janet H. Cho, Cleveland Plain Dealer, April 24, 2009
Green, Ohio—At this week's shareholders meeting, Diebold President and CEO Thomas Swidarski acknowledged the company's recent challenges and spoke at length about the company's $3.17 billion in revenues and foreign success.

Hugo Boss cuts jobs at local plant, by Frank Bentayou, Cleveland Plain Dealer, April 23, 2009
Brooklyn, Ohio—German-based clothing maker Hugo Boss is trimming jobs at its local suit production plant now and may close the plant next year, according to union leaders.

Fiat eyes minivan shift to Toledo, by Larry P. Vellequette, Toledo Blade, April 23, 2009
Toledo—A source within Fiat SpA told the Automotive News trade publication this week that one plan being studied by the Italian automaker would move Chrysler LLC's minivan production from its home in Windsor, Ont., to the Toledo Jeep Assembly complex where the Jeep Liberty and Dodge Nitro are made.

BaseTek's base now in Newbury, by Amy Ann Stoessel, Crains' Cleveland Business, April 23, 2009
Newbury, Ohio—BaseTek LLC has opened a 10,000-square-foot manufacturing operation in Newbury. The company, which had previously out-sourced all production, specializes in the design and specification of polymer composite bases.

Opinion: Taking good news about GM with a grain of salt, Youngstown Vindicator, April 22, 2009
Youngstown—The Mahoning Valley’s future is tied to the fate of General Motors Corp. in ways that go even beyond the immediate future of the Lordstown plant.

Dana Holding chief exec says worst may be over, by Larry P. Vellequette, Toledo Blade, April 22, 2009
Romulus, Mich.—Dana Holding Corp.'s top executive said yesterday that he believes the auto market in North America may finally have found its floor, but that no parts supplier can be profitable at current production levels.

Honda offers workers incentives to leave, by Patrick Bell, 10TV News, Ohio News Network, April 22, 2009
Marysville, Ohio—Honda of America employees -- including those working at the plant in Marysville -- are being offered incentives to retire or leave as the recession forces the automaker to streamline its operations.

GM, Chrysler could get up to $5.5 billion more in loans, by Tom Krisher, AP via Cleveland Plain Dealer, April 22, 2009
Detroit—General Motors Corp. could get as much as $5 billion more in federal loans, while Chrysler LLC could get $500 million as they race against government-imposed deadlines to restructure.

American Greetings sells its 341 retail shops, by Janet H. Cho, Cleveland Plain Dealer, April 21, 2009
Cleveland—American Greetings Corp.'s decision to sell off its 341 retail stores to the parent company of Papyrus card shops abruptly ends 103 years of selling paper greeting cards to consumers.

Ohio credits Third Frontier Project with creating, saving jobs, by Shaheen Samavati, Cleveland Plain Dealer, April 21, 2009
Dayton—A new report on Ohio's Third Frontier Project says the $1.6 billion , seven-year-old program is directly responsible for creating or retaining 7,757 jobs in Ohio. The Ohio Department of Development's John Griffin said the number rises to 17,000 jobs taking into account suppliers of companies who have received state funding.

• Tech-firm funding matched ninefold; Ohio Third Frontier program, by Paula Schleis, Akron Beacon Journal, April 21, 2009
  Every $1 the Ohio Third Frontier program has invested has been matched by $9 from other sources, defying the original prediction of a 3-to-1 leverage ratio.

Ohio small businesses call for reforms to make worker health insurance affordable, by Sarah Jane Tribble, Cleveland Plain Dealer, April 21, 2009
Cleveland—Two small-business advocacy groups released a survey showing that 69% of small business owners do not offer health insurance, and those that do are struggling to do so. Small Business Majority and Ohio's Small Business Network on Health Care are calling for urgent health care reform.

Mixed reviews for new energy law, by Stephen Majors, AP via Akron Beacon Journal, April 21, 2009
Columbus—A new energy law designed to avert large price spikes is getting mixed reviews from Ohio's consumer advocate and regulators as new utility rates take effect.

China puts its electric vehicles on center stage, by Norihiko Shirouzu, Wall Street Journal, April 21, 2009
Shanghai—Chinese auto makers are unveiling a slew of battery-powered cars and other energy-efficient vehicles at this week's auto show here that could make them more globally competitive and eventually help address the air pollution that chokes many Chinese cities.

Cuyahoga County bolsters loan fund stimulus, by Jay Miller, Crain's Cleveland Business, April 20, 2009 (Subscription)
Cleveland—Cuyahoga County is channeling more money into a loan fund, so that those dollars can be lent directly to people and small companies looking to bring new ideas to market. MAGNET administers the fund for the County. More information about applying for these loans is available here.

Cleveland OKs $550,000 to help Alcoa fix press, by Frank Bentayou, Cleveland Plain Dealer, April 20, 2009
Cleveland—Cleveland City Council agreed Monday night to commit $550,000 to help repair a crippled 10-story hydraulic press that's key to whether Alcoa keeps its Forged and Cast Products operation here.

Ohio manufacturers fear chain reaction if either Chrysler or GM declares bankruptcy, by Jim Mackinnon, Akron Beacon Journal, April 20, 2009
Akron—The future of the so-called Detroit Three is of utmost importance to Ohio and its manufacturing base, which heavily relies on the auto industry. The latest information from the trade group Original Equipment Suppliers Association in Troy, Mich., estimates that more than 97,000 people were directly employed by automobile suppliers in Ohio.

Eaton Corp. announces more job cuts, furloughs as it reports first quarter loss of $52 million, by Frank Bentayou, Cleveland Plain Dealer, April 20, 2009
Cleveland—Fighting falling orders from its customers, Eaton Corp. on Monday announced new cost-saving steps, including job cuts and three additional weeks of unpaid leave for U.S. salaried employees.

Summit on labor, company relations, by Paula Schleis, Akron Beacon Journal, April 20, 2009
Cleveland—Reshaping opinions about Northeast Ohio's work force by highlighting successful labor-management collaborations is among the goals of the Northeast Ohio Labor Economy Summit scheduled for next Friday at Cleveland State University.

Tire imports spur dumping case; Steelworkers union alleges rising Chinese shipments cost U.S. jobs, by Robert Guy Matthews, Wall Street Journal, April 20, 2009 (Subscription)
Washington—The United Steelworkers filed a trade case against Chinese tire manufacturers, alleging job losses from a four-year-long surge of unfairly imported tires for cars and trucks and seeking import restrictions from the Obama administration.

GM starts to fire 1,600 white-collar workers, AP via Cleveland Plain Dealer, April 20, 2009
Detroit—General Motors Corp. started firing 1,600 white-collar workers Monday, continuing its effort to slash costs and qualify for more government loans on the same day it revealed it spent $2.8 million in the first three months of this year to lobby federal lawmakers.

Report: Chrysler Financial refuses exec pay limits, AP via Cleveland Plain Dealer, April 20, 2009
Washington—Chrysler LLC's financial arm turned down additional government aid after some top executives refused to accept new limits on executive pay, according to a government official with knowledge of the negotiations.

Leading economic indicators dip more than expected, AP via Cleveland Plain Dealer, April 20, 2009
New York—The Conference Board says its monthly forecast of economic activity fell 0.3 percent in March and has not risen in nine months.

Ohio secures spot in race for fuel cell development, by Paula Schleis, Akron Beacon Journal, April 20, 2009
Cleveland—Any fuel cell activity in Michigan also will be good for Ohio because Michigan firms have suppliers here, said Pat Valente, executive director of the Ohio Fuel Cell Coalition. In addition, the state is actively competing for attention in the fuel cell industry.

• Michigan powering up; Tax credits attract manufacturers of batteries for electric, hybrid cars, by Karen Bouffard, Detroit News via Akron Beacon Journal, April 20, 2009

Job retraining funds awarded for former GE Lighting workers, Willoughby News-Herald, April 17, 2009
Willoughby, Ohio—The U.S. Department of Labor has approved a $271,075 grant of federal stimulus money to help retrain workers laid off after the GE Lighting plant in Willoughby laid off most of its workers last fall.

Opinion: Ohio could lead in green jobs creation, by Wendy Patton of Policy Matters Ohio, Toledo Blade, April 18, 2009
Toledo—In our 2005 report on job potential of renewable energy (Generating Energy, Generating Jobs), Policy Matters Ohio presented data demonstrating that Ohio would garner more green jobs than 47 other states given a sizable domestic investment in renewable energy and a set of policies that support domestic manufacturing.

Businesses brace for costly new rules on CO2, by Jonathan Weisman and Siobhan Hughes, Wall Street Journal, April 18, 2009 (Subscription)
Washington—The Obama administration declared Friday that carbon dioxide and five other industrial emissions threaten the planet. The landmark decision lays the groundwork for federal efforts to cap carbon emissions -- at a potential cost of billions of dollars to businesses and government.

Chrysler CEO outlines the future if Fiat alliance gets a green light, by Greg Gardner, Detroit Free Press via Cleveland Plain Dealer, April 18, 2009
Detroit—Chrysler Chief Executive Bob Nardelli said Friday that the U.S. Treasury and Fiat will select a board of directors, which will select a new chairman and CEO, if a Chrysler-Fiat alliance meets government requirements by an April 30 deadline.

Meggitt cutting 27 jobs in Akron, Cleveland Plain Dealer, April 16, 2009
Akron—Meggitt Aircraft Braking Systems Corp. said it will move some operations from its Akron facilities in late May, resulting in the loss of about 27 jobs.

GM chief says bankruptcy filing probable, AP via Akron Beacon Journal, April 18, 2009
Detroit—General Motors Corp. Chief Executive Fritz Henderson said Friday that a bankruptcy filing is ''probable'' because of the restructuring goals GM must meet to get more government loans, but that isn't the company's preferred option.