General Motors sacks 4000 workers

General Motors Co on Monday said it has started the sack of about 4,000 salaried workers in the latest round of a restructuring announced in late November.

The retrenchment will ultimately shrink its white-collar workforce in North America by 15 percent out of 54,000.

Two persons briefed on the cuts said GM is cutting hundreds of jobs at its information technology centres in Texas, Georgia, Arizona and Michigan and more than 1,000 jobs at its Warren, Michigan Tech Center. GM is filing new required mass layoff notices with state agencies and disclosed the cuts to lawmakers.

The largest U.S. automaker announced in November it would cut a total of about 15,000 jobs and end production at five North American plants. The cuts include eliminating about 8,000 salaried workers, or about 15 percent.

GM cut about 1,500 contract workers in December and said 2,300 salaried workers accepted buyouts, officials said.

“These actions are necessary to secure the future of the company, including preserving thousands of jobs in the U.S. and globally. We are taking action now while the overall economy and job market are strong, increasing the ability of impacted employees to continue to advance in their careers, should they choose to do so,” GM spokesman Pat Morrissey said, adding the bulk of the cuts should be completed in the next two weeks.

Morrissey said GM would provide salaried workers with severance packages and job placement services.

GM is also cutting its executive ranks by 25 percent and last week laid off three senior people in its Washington office and some other small salaried layoffs previously took place.

President Donald Trump and U.S. and Canadian lawmakers have blasted GM’s plans to end production at plants in Ontario, Michigan, Ohio and Maryland.

GM said in November it would end U.S. and Canadian production of the Chevrolet Cruze, Volt, Impala, the Buick LaCrosse and the Cadillac XTS and CT6 sedans.

Trump, who made a 2017 speech near GM’s Lordstown Assembly plant in Ohio, said in November the company had “better” find a new product for that plant.

But GM Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra wrote last week: “We are more convinced than ever that our strategy is sound and in the long term.”

Last month, Comprehensive Logistics said it would cease operations at its facility in Lordstown that provides logistics and warehousing, impacting about 180 jobs. Magna International Inc is also laying off about 120 people at its Lordstown Seating Systems plant that makes seats for GM vehicles.

GM to put its self drive 'AV cruise' on the road by 2019, releases first look of interior

Here’s a first look at the interior of GM’s fully autonomous ‘cruise AV.’ As you can see, no steering wheel, no pedals — just a screen to touch and a skyline to stare at. A safety petition has been filed with the department of transportation. If successful, GM’s cruise will be the first of its kind to go into production without manual controls. Reassuringly, GM asks us to imagine a world without human error, harmful emissions, traffic jams, and inequality, ‘The peace of mind knowing that whatever our age, our stage of life or our physical capabilities we have the freedom to go wherever we want to go.’

General Motors to introduce at least 23 electric vehicles by 2023

General Motors has big plans for electrification over the next few years, and we’re not talking just hybrid technology. The automaker says it will introduce at least 20 new all-electric vehicles by 2023.

The first two EVs will be based off knowledge gained from the Bolt, GM announced today. These vehicles will launch within the next 18 months.

“General Motors believes in an all-electric future,” said Mark Reuss, GM executive vice president of Product Development, Purchasing and Supply Chain, in a release. “Although that future won’t happen overnight, GM is committed to driving increased usage and acceptance of electric vehicles through no-compromise solutions that meet our customers’ needs.”

GM has refined its electrified lineup over time. In addition to the Bolt, GM also currently offers the Chevrolet Volt and Cadillac CT6 plug-in hybrids. Other models like the Chevrolet Spark EV and Cadillac ELR have been axed.

GM envisions a future with zero crashes, zero emissions, and zero congestion. When it comes to emissions, battery electric vehicles are just part of the solution. Once again, GM reiterated that it’s pursuing fuel cell technology. Earlier this year, the automaker announced a joint venture with Honda to produce next-generation fuel cell systems for future vehicles. Production on the advanced fuel cell systems is expected to start around 2020.

Meanwhile, GM is testing the waters with a four-wheel-steer fuel cell concept called SURUS. Short for Silent Utility Rover Universal Superstructure, SURUS uses a heavy-duty truck frame and two electric motors. Its architecture paves the way for future fuel cell trucks, delivery vehicles, and ambulances.

Source: GM