Tom Hodge, 34
Germantown, Ohio
Laid off from: General Motors, Dec. 23, 2008
New venture: Absolute CNC Machining
Two days before Christmas, Tom Hodge worked his last shift for GM at the now closed Moraine (Ohio) assembly plant, which at its peak employed 4,500 workers on three shifts making SUVs like the Chevrolet Trailblazer. After 12 years at the plant, the journeyman toolmaker could have tried for a transfer. But when he watched GM CEO Rick Wagoner plead for a bailout from Congress in December, he was convinced he could do better on his own. With his buyout as seed money, Hodge now has a 39-page business plan, a 1,500 square-foot shop in Germantown, and hopes to supply tools for aerospace, medical, and energy companies in the region. "I feel like now I'm in a position to rely on myself," Hodge says.
