GM Announces Massive Layoffs, Production Reduction

Taylor Telford at the Washington Post: GM to Lay Off 15 Percent of Salaried Workers, Halt Production at Five Plants in U.S. and Canada.

Amid global restructuring, General Motors announced Monday it would reduce its North American production and salaried and executive workforce.

The Detroit-based automaker said it would not be allocating any production to Oshawa Assembly in Ontario, Lordstown Assembly in Ohio, and Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly in Michigan after December 2019. It will also stop allocating production at propulsion plants in White Marsh, Md., and Warren, Mich., after December 2019. The company will also be discontinuing production of low-selling models made at those plants throughout 2019, including the Chevrolet Impala, Cruze, and Volt, the Cadillac CT6, and the Buick LaCrosse.

These changes are part of GM's efforts to focus its resources on self-driving and electric vehicles, as well as more efficient trucks, crossovers, and SUVs, the company said in a statement.

The company also said it will cut 15 percent of its salaried workforce, laying off 25 percent of its executives to "streamline decision-making." GM also said it will close two plants outside North America by the end of 2019, but those locations have yet to be announced.

"The actions we are taking today continue our transformation to be highly agile, resilient, and profitable, while giving us the flexibility to invest in the future," chief executive Mary Barra said in a statement. "We recognize the need to stay in front of changing market conditions and customer preferences to position our company for long-term success."

Wall Street applauded the news, with GM's stock climbing more than 7 percent following the announcement.

All of that is a load of bullshit which means: We're getting rid of working people, because working people cost money, and the investment class wants to make money at any cost, so fuck you.

I'm reading a lot of snark about Donald Trump making America great again etc., and that is all true, but there's enough of that already, so let me just offer my sympathies to anyone who is employed by GM, or whose household income is partially or wholly reliant on a GM job.

While acknowledging that there are people nearing retirement who will welcome a payout, that won't be true for most of the people losing their jobs. I'm sorry to everyone who is even stressed about the possibility of job loss. And I'm sorry that coverage of these massive layoffs talks about numbers instead of the human beings behind those numbers. I see you.

[Related Reading from May 2017: Ford Reportedly to Reduce Workforce by 10 Percent.]