When the assembly plant workers at GM Lordstown were notified that the plant, which had produced more than 16.5 million Chevrolet vehicles for 52 years, would be ceasing production, most in the Valley were stunned.

The remaining 1,607 GM employees were notified on November 26, 2018, that Cruze production would end on March 6, 2019.

The remaining employees had few options: transfer to other GM facilities around the country, find a new, lesser-paying job (which included working at the joint venture between LG Energy Solutions and General Motors Ultium Cells), or retire.

Ultium Cells first opened in September of 2022 but paid considerably less than salaries previously earned at the assembly plant.

But last fall, during the contract negotiations, it was agreed to allow Ultium workers to fall under the UAW Master Agreement, which meant higher salaries for those currently employed and would allow some of those forced to move would be given an opportunity to return home, retaining seniority and salary.

On Thursday, it was announced that former Lordstown employees will be told how the process of returning home will take place on Monday.

21 News has contacted Ultium Cells and GM for comment on the number of people who will be offered the opportunity but has not heard back as of this story's publication.

In November, 21 News reported that raises within Ultium workers would lead an estimated $36 million in the Mahoning and Trumbull counties' Gross Domestic Product, a measure of the value of the final goods and services.

ECONOMIC UPTICK AFTER BIG ECONOMIC DOWNTURN

While we don't know how many people will be offered positions at Ultium Cells on Monday, what we do know is those who left here at the end of November 2018 through March 2019 had the most seniority and the biggest paychecks.

The Valley will definitely see an economic uptick and the benefits of extra money that will be spent in any of the area's businesses.

However, the uptick isn't likely to replace what was lost three shifts and more than 4,300 employees at GM Lordstown in the beginning of 2017.

At one time, the plant employed more the 13,000 employees. But in recent years, it was one-third of that number.

In 2017, third shift was eliminated, with a loss of 1,245 jobs. In July of 2018, the second shift was removed along with another 1,500 jobs. The death blow was the last remaining shift, and the final 1,607 jobs.

When GM Lordstown closed, the ripple effect was devasting throughout the region.

Beyond the loss of high-paying jobs and the taxes it brought into their communities, there was an indirect impact—the loss of jobs in supply-chain industries, followed by induced - the loss of jobs in consumer service industries (which includes everything from restaurants, grocery stores, schools, real estate and even medical professionals).

According to a 2019 Cleveland State University Impact Study, the loss to the region through direct, indirect and induced was $8.2 billion between 2017 through 2019.

The estimated loss to the Valley when the third shift was eliminated in 2018 was nearly $2.4 billion followed in 2018 with a loss of nearly $2.8 billion. In 2019, the study estimated just over $3 billion.

Stay with 21 News Monday for updates on this story.