Tag: General Motors

To G.M. Workers, U.A.W. Strike Is Chance for Overdue Reward

New York Times logoDETROIT — A decade ago, when General Motors was on the brink of collapse and was ushered into bankruptcy by the federal government, the company’s unionized workers bore a significant portion of the pain to bring the automaker back to financial health.

The United Auto Workers agreed to allow General Motors to hire substantial numbers of new workers at roughly half the hourly wage of those already on the payroll and with reduced retirement benefits. In the following years, G.M. was also able to bring in temporary workers with even slimmer wage-and-benefit packages and little job security.

The bitter medicine helped reinvigorate the automaker, and for the last several years it has been reaping record profits. Along the way, it has pared its United States payrolls, closed several plants and moved more work to Mexico.

View the complete September 16 article by Neal E. Boudette on The New York Times website here.

Trump faces failing strategy on auto jobs as he heads to Ohio

As the president tries to save an auto plant in Ohio, his tariffs have cost automakers billions.

President Donald Trump heads to Ohio Wednesday embroiled in a fight with General Motors and the United Auto Workers over the closing of GM’s Lordstown plant. But his attempts to save manufacturing jobs have battered the auto industry and could erode his loyal base in the Midwest.

Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminum have cost Ford and GM about $1 billion each. GM Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra cited the tariffs in November when she announced the 14,000 job cuts that included the Lordstown plant’s shuttering. Potentially making things even worse, Trump is now weighing new tariffs on foreign automobiles that could threaten hundreds of thousands of additional U.S. jobs.

“The reality is auto tariffs would put Ohio into a recession,” said Dan Ujczo, a Columbus-based international trade lawyer who has been closely studying the impact of recent trade actions on Ohio companies.

View the complete March 19 article by Timothy Noah and Adam Behsudi on the Politico website here.

Trump Broke His Promises To 1,300 More Autoworkers

Trump promised voters in Warren, Michigan that they wouldn’t lose their manufacturing plants if he was elected and that General Motors would create new jobs in the United States because of him. Today, General Motors confirmed it plans to lay off over 1,000 workers at their Warren, Michigan facility.

THEN: Trump promised voters in Warren, Michigan they “won’t lose one plant” if he was elected, and said that GM would expand jobs in the U.S. because of him.

Trump in Warren, Michigan: “If I’m elected, you won’t lose one plant, you’ll have plants coming into this country, you’re going to have jobs again, you won’t lose one plant, I promise you that.”

Trump: “Just today—breaking news—General Motors announced that they’re adding or keeping 900 jobs right here in Michigan, and that’s going to be over the next 12 months. And that’s just the beginning, folks. […] We’re going to have a lot more. They’re going to be building new plants, expanding their plants.”

Trump: “You see what’s going on with the car companies. You ought to call Ford. Call Mr. Fields, the head of Ford. Call Mary Barra, head of General Motors. You could call Fiat. You know, you could call Fiat. You could call — we had that meeting. They’re all talking about building in the United States because of me.”

NOW: General Motors is cutting over 4,000 jobs, including nearly 1,300  jobs at their Warren, Michigan plant alone — the most of any facility.

Detroit News: “General Motors Co.’s salaried job cuts will include the elimination of 1,298 jobs at the Warren Technical Center, according to a filing with the state of Michigan. With those jobs eliminated, the Tech Center will see the most cuts of any GM facility as the company continues a weeks-long process of cutting more than 4,000 salaried jobs.”

GM layoffs and plant shutdowns suggest U.S. economy may be starting to slow — and dent Trump’s claim of an industrial renaissance

Tara Gress hopes to transfer to another plant after GM’s Nov. 26 announcement of plans to close five plants and lay off 15,000 workers. (The Washington Post)

General Motors said Monday it will close five factories and lay off nearly 15,000 workers in a move that shows the economy may be starting to slow and dents President Trump’s claim to be leading a renaissance for industrial America.

The automaker said it would save $6 billion annually by thinning its salaried management ranks, dropping thousands of American and Canadian factory workers, and emphasizing the production of larger sport-utility vehicles rather than sedans.

GM’s announcement sounded an incongruous note amid otherwise plentiful signs of U.S. economic health. The last six months have produced the economy’s best back-to-back quarters in four years. The unemployment rate is near a half-century low. And corporate profits are exceeding expectations.

View the complete November 26 article by David J. Lynch and Taylor Telford on The Washington Post website here.

GM WORKERS SPEAK OUT: ‘I can’t believe our president would allow this to happen’

Trump’s broken promises have devastated autoworkers and their communities in the wake of the latest announcement of layoffs and plant closures from General Motors. As one autoworker said, “I can’t believe our president would allow this to happen.”

Here are real stories of autoworkers and communities hurt by Trump’s broken promises:

“You are going right into Christmas, you are looking for celebration, and that’s not there now. So what do you do? Do you still continue to buy gifts?” – UAW member

“I can’t believe our president would allow this to happen.” – GM Lordstown worker

“This is devastating…Without GM, this area would be a ghost town.” – Previously laid off GM worker

Continue reading “GM WORKERS SPEAK OUT: ‘I can’t believe our president would allow this to happen’”

GM to lay off 15 percent of salaried workers, halt production at five plants in U.S. and Canada

GM announced Nov. 26 that it plans to lay off 15 percent of salaried workers. This isn’t the first time the company has faced trouble. (Elyse Samuels /The Washington Post)

Amid global restructuring, General Motors announced Monday it would reduce its North American production and salaried and executive workforce.

The Detroit-based automaker said it would not be allocating any production to Oshawa Assembly in Ontario, Lordstown Assembly in Ohio and Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly in Michigan after December 2019. It will also stop allocating production at propulsion plants in White Marsh, Md., and Warren, Mich., after December 2019. The company will also be discontinuing production of low-selling models made at those plants throughout 2019, including the Chevrolet Impala, Cruze and Volt, the Cadillac CT6 and the Buick LaCrosse.

These changes are part of GM’s efforts to focus its resources on self-driving and electric vehicles, as well as more efficient trucks, crossovers and SUVs, the company said in a statement.

View the complete November 26 article by Taylor Telford on The Washington Post website here.

G.M. Says New Wave of Trump Tariffs Could Force U.S. Job Cuts

The following article by Tiffany Hsu was posted on the Washington Post website June 29,2018:

A GMC Sierra truck on display in Detroit in March, 2018. Credit: Jeff Kowalsky, Bloomberg

General Motors warned Friday that if President Trump pushed ahead with another wave of tariffs, the move could backfire, leading to “less investment, fewer jobs and lower wages” for its employees.

The automaker said that the president’s threat to impose tariffs on imports of cars and car parts — along with an earlier spate of penalties — could drive vehicle prices up by thousands of dollars. The “hardest hit” cars, General Motors said in comments submitted to the Commerce Department, are likely to be the ones bought by consumers who can least afford an increase. Demand would suffer and production would slow, all of which “could lead to a smaller G.M.”

The president has promoted tariffs as a way to protect American businesses and workers, aiming at dozens of nations with metal tariffs, as well as bringing broader levies against Chinese goods. But companies, which rely on other markets for sales, production and materials, have been increasingly vocal about the potential damage from his policies.