5 quick facts about GM’s history in Dayton

General Motors confirmed plans Monday to “realign” some manufacturing capacity, endangering plants in Warren, Ohio, Michigan and elsewhere.

“In the past four years, GM has refocused capital and resources to support the growth of its crossovers, SUVs and trucks, adding shifts and investing $6.6 billion in U.S. plants that have created or maintained 17,600 jobs,” the automaker said in a statement Monday. “With changing customer preferences in the U.S. and in response to market-related volume declines in cars, future products will be allocated to fewer plants next year.

UNMATCHED COVERAGE: Ohio senators blast GM plan that could kill 15,000 jobs in U.S., Canada

Both of Ohio’s senators blasted GM’s decision, announced Monday, which will likely lead to the closure of the company’s Lordstown assembly plant in Warren, Ohio. It’s not the first time GM has closed a plant in Ohio. Here’s what you need to know:

1. Many manufacturing giants have come and gone from the Dayton area over the past 50 years. The last to go was General Motors Moraine Assembly in 2008. GM Moraine Assembly was closed permanently on December 23, 2008, and 2,400 workers lost their jobs.

PHOTOS: Watch this complex transform from Frigidaire to Fuyao, in 33 images

2. It all started with General Motors subsidiary Frigidaire, which manufactured appliances in Moraine from 1951-79. Two years later, GM was producing Chevy S-10 pickup trucks in the plant.

3. Between 1981 and 2008, more than six million vehicles were built at Moraine Assembly.

4. The DMAX engine plant in Moraine has endured the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, the largest industrial bankruptcy in history, gas price fluctuations and changing consumer tastes that sunk far larger plants and closed better known companies.

DMAX is owned by General Motors and Isuzu.

5.Even now, GM matters to the area. Local suppliers like Tenneco, Mahle Behr, Navistar, the aformentioned Fuyao Glass America and, yes, DMAX all supply GM. And GM is a 60 percent owner of the local DMAX plant. GM helped build Dayton and even with a diminished automaking presence in the city, there's still a meaningful connection.

About the Author