Mary Barra Kevin Lamarque | Reuters

U.S. lawmakers are pressing General Motors CEO Mary Barra against following through with plans to cut up to 14,000 jobs, two senators said after emerging from the closed-door meeting. She's meeting privately with several lawmakers representing regions that will be hit hard by the cuts, congressional aides said. Three Ohio lawmakers — Republican Sen. Rob Portman, Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown and Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan — met with her Wednesday. They've decried GM's plan to close its Lordstown assembly plant in their home state.

After his meeting with Barra, Portman told reporters she "is willing to keep an open mind" about re-purposing the facility, but "does not want to raise expectations." He and Brown said they are pushing for GM to either move production from Mexico to Ohio or build one of their new electric vehicles in Lordstown. The lawmakers have "pushed [Barra] hard" about expediting GM's decision on whether to shut down the plant, Brown said. The automaker has said it will stop making its Chevy Cruze model in Ohio by March. Portman said he also spoke to President Donald Trump and Labor Secretary Alex Acosta about keeping the plant open. Trump has pressured GM to keep its operations in the U.S., even threatening to pull all government subsidies for the company. Ryan, who met separately with Barra, said he's heard from "countless people across Northeast Ohio who are scared for their financial security and their community's future." "I conveyed that to Mary Barra today and once more insisted that GM do everything it can to place a new product at the Lordstown plant," he said. "These are not just numbers on a page, but people's lives at stake. I also reaffirmed my desire to work with her, the administration, and my colleagues on the Hill to bring this problem to a resolution that supports the workers who have done nothing wrong."

Mary Barra, chief executive officer of General Motors (GM), arrives for a meeting with Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) on Capitol Hill, December 5, 2018 in Washington, DC. GM is under fire for plans to cut around 8,000 salaried workers and 3,300 hourly workers in the United States. Drew Angerer | Getty Images