JANESVILLE, Wis. — The symbol of this city's descent into economic calamity still sits near the middle of town.
In June 2008, General Motors made the decision to close its plant here in Janesville. Opened in 1919, it was the oldest GM plant at the time of its shuttering, in April 2009. Now, the Janesville plant has become a microcosm of the economic crisis that has plagued much of the Midwest during President Barack Obama's first term.
The unemployment rate skyrocketed to 13.4 percent in February 2010, up an astounding 9 percentage points in just two years. And all that came after President Barack Obama visited the plant during the 2008 campaign and said that "if our government is there to support you ... this plant will be here for another 100 years."
The plant produced SUVs and light trucks under a partnership with Izuzu, which ended in April 2009. About 1,200 people were notified just before Christmas in 2008 that they would lose their jobs. In 2011, GM re-committed to keeping the plant on "standby" status, meaning it could still reopen sometime in the future.
Today, though, the plant still sits idle, locked up, rusted and deserted.
This original banner perfectly encapsulates what the plant has become.
An empty $15.00 sign remains on the outskirts of the plant.
A wide shot of the plant.
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