In 1966, General Motors opened a new factory in a cornfield in Lordstown, Ohio, 210 miles southeast of Detroit, to manufacture top-selling Chevys and Pontiacs. When it opened, Lordstown was the most modern GM plant, to which the company soon added 26 robots. For workers, though, the plant was a brutal physical experience with a vastly accelerated assembly line. By the 1970s, the factory’s 7,000 workers, represented by the United Auto Workers union, were in bitter rebellion: The assembly line pumped out Chevy Vegas with damaged upholstery, paint and gear shift levers. Workers said the defects were the result of the quickened assembly line; the company said workers were sabotaging the vehicles.

Source: Forbes May 15, 2023 11:40 UTC