General Motors Co. announced on Monday that they would be slashing up to 14,800 jobs and end production at several plants across North America.
“This is what we’re doing to transform the company. The industry is changing very rapidly,” GM Chief Executive Mary Barra told The Wall Street Journal. “We think it’s appropriate to get in front of it while the business and the economy are strong.”
GM, who has seen record profits in the past two years, plans to get ahead of a major drop by closing down manufacturing plants in Ohio, Detroit, and Oshawa in Ontario Canada. Those plants created the Chevrolet Cruze compact car, the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid and large sedans like the Chevrolet Impala, Buick LaCrosse and Cadillac CT6 model vehicles.
“We don’t see anything specific on the horizon,” Barra said. “This about making sure GM is lean and agile to get in front and lead in autonomous and electric vehicles.”
The company recently offered buyouts to some 18,000 employees. As of 2017 GM had about 180,000 employees worldwide, about 100,000 of whom work in the United States.
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