General Motors To Lay Off Over 4,000 Salaried Workers Starting Monday
General Motors is poised to lay off over 4,000 employees starting on Monday, as reported by CNN Business. This comes as part of GM’s ongoing plan to cope with lower earnings across the board. Overall, the company is expected to cut 15 percent of its white collar jobs throughout the United States. GM is also planning on closing four production plants in America, as well as another plant that is located in Canada.
On Friday, the company confirmed that the salaried staff reductions were poised to begin. About 6,000 additional employees will be laid of as a result of those plant closings. There is no information as of yet regarding when those plants may begin shutting down.
“We are not confirming timing,” a GM spokesperson said in an interview with CNBC. “Our employees are our priorities and we will communicate with them first.”
Unfortunately, these are not the only layoffs General Motors is planning. The company has dismissed 2,300 employees who accepted voluntary buyout packages upon termination. These buyouts were offered to over 17,000 employees who had more than 12 years with the company. Additionally, 1,500 contract employees were also dismissed at this time.
All of these layoffs and plant closings are part of an ongoing plan GM has to restructure its spending. The company intends to annually invest $6 billion into new car technologies. This would include electric and self-driving vehicles, which are both considered to be growing industries.
And it looks like GM is attempting to take a page out of Uber’s book; the company is reportedly investing in their ride hailing service to generate sales. This could become a significant revenue source for GM, which has been struggling to generate income. Maven, which launched in 2016, is primed to rapidly expand in 2019, with GM adding numerous cities to its ride-sharing service. The company is also planning on using Maven to promote its self-driving vehicles.
Besides dramatic cuts to its salaried employees, General Motors will end production of six vehicles. The plants being closed are primarily those that focused on these types of vehicles, specifically sedans and compact cars. These cars have not been performing well for the company, as more and more Americans opt instead for trucks, crossovers, and sport utility vehicles.
The company reportedly hopes to have a significant number of layoffs completed before Wednesday, ahead of its earnings report. All told, General Motors is expected to achieve its $6 billion savings goal by 2020, with at least half of that realized by the end of 2019.
