DETROIT (AP) – General Motors is slashing thousands of jobs in North America.
The iconic American car maker will lay off 14,700 factory and white-collar workers and put five plants up for possible closure as it restructures to cut costs and focus on more autonomous and electric cars.
The reduction includes 8,100 white-collar workers, some of whom will take buyouts and others who will be laid off.
In the fall, the Detroit automaker offered buyouts to 18,000 white collar workers, but it has yet to say how many accepted, or if its’s close to meeting the staff reduction goals it set to better withstand leaner times.
Most of the affected factories build cars that won’t be sold in the U.S. after next year. They could close or get different cars to build. They will be part of contract talks with the United Auto Workers union next year.
Plants without products include assembly plants in Detroit; Lordstown, Ohio; and Oshawa, Ontario. Also affected are transmission factories in Warren, Michigan, and Baltimore.
Kim Carpenter with GM said the Arlington plant, which employees thousands of workers, will not be affected.
A person briefed on the matter told The Associated Press that the plant being shuttered in Canada is just the beginning as GM prepares for the next economic downturn, shifting trade agreements under the Trump administration, and potential tariffs on imported automobiles.
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