Editor’s note: This is No. 3 of the top 10 stories of 2016 voted on by employees of the Tribune Chronicle.

LORDSTOWN — Around this time last year, workers at the local General Motors Assembly Plant were gearing up for the much-anticipated launch of the Chevrolet Cruze’s second generation.

The Detroit automaker had invested more than $250 million to retool and ready the Lordstown plant.

And with new national and local agreements in place by the end of 2015, workers met 2016 ready to roll with what the company called a “sleeker yet larger version” of the sedan’s top-selling predecessor.

But 2016 — the year Lordstown marked its 50th year in production with a two-day celebration that included a plant tour and car show — brought several bumps along the way, including the announced elimination of the plant’s third shift that has rippled to other local companies impacted by the move.

“It’s been an up and down year for us no doubt,” said Rob Morales, president of United Auto Workers Local 1714. “Now we’re looking to stay focused on our goals and position ourselves to be where we need to be.”

More than 3.5 million Cruzes have been sold around the world since 2008, and more than 1.25 million of those have been made in Lordstown since the car launched here in 2010. But with declining gas prices came a market shift as consumers started favoring larger vehicles over smaller ones, including the Cruze.

Although the Cruze quickly became one of the world’s top-selling small cars, sales started dropping off by 2015. As of Nov. 30, year-to-date Cruze sales were down 18.2 percent compared to the first 11 months in 2015.

In comparison, trucks and SUVs made up almost 62 percent of all vehicles sold in the United States in November, a record level.

To reduce its inventory of cars, GM will temporarily close five factories, including Lordstown, where some 4,500 people work. The down week at Lordstown is set to begin Jan. 23 when more than 1,200 workers are to be laid off.

Morales said the developments at Lordstown are not the result of the plant’s inability to build a quality vehicle.

“People are shifting their money elsewhere,” he said. “It really is about the change in the market. We hope to see a change in the market back to the smaller car, back to the Cruze and back to our favor.”

Another option, he said, is the potential for the plant, which exclusively makes the Cruze, to secure another product from GM.

“Our focus now is to continue working hard as we have been and to position ourselves to be ready for anything that might come along,” he said.

Glenn Johnson, president of UAW Local 1112, said current numbers indicate the plant will be able to sustain two shifts.

“We’re going to proceed with the work and workers we have and build the best product we can,” he said. “The goal is to make sure our workforce is prepared and ready for whatever comes along, whether it’s a shift in the market back to the small car, to the Cruze, or any new product that might become available.”

Lordstown launched production of the Cruze’s next generation early in 2016 and relaunched it in the summer after experiencing several issues. Plant leaders traveled to other plants, including a GM facility in Mexico, and returned with some ideas they said they were able to implement at Lordstown.

Still, the plant faced several production halts throughout the year.

The the news came in November that GM would cut Lordstown’s third shift. Soon after, Lordstown Seating Systems, which provides seating for the Chevrolet Cruze, announced it will end its third shift beginning Jan. 20, resulting in permanent layoffs of 83 full-time hourly and salaried employees and 32 more temporary workers at the company’s Henn Parkway SW facility. Comprehensive Logistics in Austintown, which ships automotive parts for Lordstown, also said it will be making some job cuts.

vshank@tribtoday.com