The business of General Motors is developing well and in Q3 2018 the company reported revenues of 2.5 billion USD. However, the US manufacturer has announced plans for a global restructuring that provides for the closure of at least seven factories, the dismissal of thousands of employees and a shortening of the model range.
The group announced that plans to cut 15% its workforce, including 25% of management, speeding up the reform and cut spending. There are no specific plans to shut down plants, but it is known that this measure will affect three car and two engine manufacturing plants – all in North America as well as two in other continents.
Accordingly, such action will also lead to a reduction in the model range. The sedans, which demand continues to fall, will suffer most, as GM is expected to abandon the Cadillac XTS and CT6, Buick LaCrosse as well as Chevrolet Cruze and Chevrolet Impala.
According to plans by the management of the company, all these measures will allow the group to save 6 billion USD by 2020. Savings will be used as an “investment in the future” – developing autonomous technologies and developing unified platforms for electric cars and crossovers, as well as modernization of the model range.
The GM’s intentions sparked a negative reaction by the US government and President Donald Trump. He asked the concern not to shut down the Ohio plant but to entrust with the production of a new model, or at the very least redeploy employees in other companies. It was at a meeting with his voters in Ohio that some time ago Trump promised that none of the state’s factories would be closed down and workers would not lose their income accordingly.