Upstart electric vehicle (E.V.) manufacturer Lordstown Motors announced on Tuesday that it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company simultaneously sued Taiwan-based electronics manufacturer Foxconn, its largest investor, for fraud and breach of contract. No matter how either scenario shakes out, it's all part of a long and shameful saga of crony capitalism.
In March 2019, General Motors (G.M.) shuttered its plant in Lordstown, Ohio, open since 1966. Automobile factory closures are nothing new, but in 2009, amid high gas prices and the Great Recession, Ohio gave G.M. $60 million to build the fuel-efficient and inexpensive Chevrolet Cruze in Lordstown. To qualify for the full amount, the company had to operate the plant through at least 2039.
