[BlackGTP]

GM to make more job cuts, trim costs with voluntary separation offers (msn.com)
Story by Jamie L. LaReau, Detroit Free Press
March 9, 2023

About a week after General Motors unexpectedly cut several hundred jobs to help it trim costs and form a top-tier workforce to guide its transition to an all-electric car company, CEO Mary Barra told employees Thursday morning that there will be more job eliminations to come — this time voluntary.

In the memo, obtained by the Free Press, Barra told employees that GM will offer a voluntary separation program to all U.S. salaried employees with five or more years of service, and to all global executives with two or more years with the automaker. The memo said the idea is to “accelerate attrition" and, she wrote, "taking this step now will avoid the potential for involuntary actions" in the future.

GM will release the details of the packages to qualified salaried employees later Thursday, but shared some of it with the Free Press as listed below. The employees will have until March 24 to take the package. The memo said GM Korea will offer a voluntary separation package to be communicated locally and GM International will continue with "limited business optimization and performance management as required." The program is not being offered to employees in Canada, Europe, Mexico or China, the memo said.

GM spokesperson David Barnas confirmed the contents of the memo saying it is "part of our plan to accelerate attrition and achieve $2 billion in cost savings by the end of 2024." He did not provide a target number as to how many voluntarily separations GM hopes to get.

Continues at link

 

[BlackGTP]

I immediately thought of Ford and wonder what kind of pressure this puts on them in regard to their cuts. Does this all of a sudden mean that their cuts will be insufficient to generate income comparable to GM? Though entirely possible GM is reacting to Ford's moves....

And of course, GM is doing what is best for themselves, but I do wonder how much they look at their crosstown rival as they change their operations.

 

[TruckMan]

Well this isn't really unique to the auto industry right now. All industries are starting to cut back given the economic recession that's upon us. This is a smart move for all companies to re-evaluate their costs as the economy slows. I don't know why GM is blaming the transition to EVs. They require almost the same amount of development as an ICE unless they're farming out battery R&D to other companies, which GM isn't. The only difference is that instead of ICE engine engineers you need battery technology specialist. I would think it's roughly the same number of people.

 

[1999 White C5 Coupe]

Seems as though everything I’ve read about BEV vs ICE vehicles is that BEV’s take fewer labor hours to assemble, fewer parts (think fewer labor hours to make the parts), but more development time - including software development.

It is interesting that GM is eliminating salaried and executive level employees - but not unionized, contract employees.

 

[RamJet502]

Companies are tightening their belts for the upcoming economic downturn. It's only a matter of time until high interest rates kill the job market, which will get inflation under control but also send the economy into an even steeper nosedive than we're already in.

 

[nota2]

More shrinkage.

 

[eaton53]

I'd love to get a separation offer.
Would retire immediately if I got one.

 

[gkr778]

Executive positions that should be eliminated permanently at GM:

• Chief Sustainability Officer (currently held by Kristen Siemen)
• Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer (currently held by Telva McGruder)

GM executives that should be fired and replaced:

• Chief Marketing Officer Deborah Wahl
• President Mark Reuss
• Senior Vice President of Global Communications Craig Buchholz

 

[CJH]

Executive positions that should be eliminated permanently at GM:

• Chief Sustainability Officer (currently held by Kristen Siemen)
• Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer (currently held by Telva McGruder)

GM executives that should be fired and replaced:

• Chief Marketing Officer Deborah Wahl
• President Mark Reuss
• Senior Vice President of Global Communications Craig Buchholz

Saucy.......

 

[BlackGTP]

More shrinkage.

Sort of.... A layoff is a layoff, people lose their jobs and an awful experience.

But technology changes as do businesses. I'm an accountant, 50 years ago I'd probably have 20+ people reporting to me to get the job done that now my one employee and myself can get done. Instead of spending all of our time adding numbers on spreadsheets, leaving little time for analysis, we now spend most of our time analyzing and a lot less on compiling numbers. Progress - and it makes sense that accounting in general has dropped a lot of those heads yet provide more value to the company.

My point being that sometimes these "culling's" are just an accumulation of job redundancies that have built up since the last downturn and recessions are a good excuse to make the painful job cuts.

 

[nota2]

Sort of.... A layoff is a layoff, people lose their jobs and an awful experience.

But technology changes as do businesses. I'm an accountant, 50 years ago I'd probably have 20+ people reporting to me to get the job done that now my one employee and myself can get done. Instead of spending all of our time adding numbers on spreadsheets, leaving little time for analysis, we now spend most of our time analyzing and a lot less on compiling numbers. Progress - and it makes sense that accounting in general has dropped a lot of those heads yet provide more value to the company.

My point being that sometimes these "culling's" are just an accumulation of job redundancies that have built up since the last downturn and recessions are a good excuse to make the painful job cuts.

No gloating from me for any job lost. And your point about technological shift seems particularly appropriate, given GM’s continued struggles and failure to deliver EVs at scale. This despite their oft-claimed manufacturing & engineering expertise and dominance over and above the now-established EV giant (Tesla) eg.

Btw kudos for recognising early the trending potential for growth within the latter. Which seems irresistibly relevant to compare against the ongoing shrinkage of the former.

Here's How Elon Musk Gets Tesla to 500,000 Cars a...

Here's How Elon Musk Gets Tesla to 500,000 Cars a Year by 2020 http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-08-10/here-s-how-elon-musk-takes-tesla-to-500-000-cars-in-five-years?cmpid=BBD081015_BIZ Bloomberg.com By Tom Randall August 10, 2015 For once, Elon Musk may be right on schedule...

www.gminsidenews.com

 

[BlackGTP]

No gloating from me for any job lost. And your point about technological shift seems particularly appropriate, given GM’s continued struggles and failure to deliver EVs at scale. This despite their oft-claimed manufacturing & engineering expertise and dominance over and above the now-established EV giant (Tesla) eg.

Btw kudos for recognising early the trending potential for growth within the latter. Which seems irresistibly relevant to compare against the ongoing shrinkage of the former.

Here's How Elon Musk Gets Tesla to 500,000 Cars a...

Here's How Elon Musk Gets Tesla to 500,000 Cars a Year by 2020 http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-08-10/here-s-how-elon-musk-takes-tesla-to-500-000-cars-in-five-years?cmpid=BBD081015_BIZ Bloomberg.com By Tom Randall August 10, 2015 For once, Elon Musk may be right on schedule...

www.gminsidenews.com

I've been on the receiving end of layoffs, an awful experience and not to be trivialized to the impacts on everyone involved. But they also can be discussed respectfully as we are.

 

[TMLYRIQ24]

Don’t take bait

 

[mgescuro]

I think it's a smart idea.
The country is not in a recession, despite what people continue to state. The current numbers just don't point to it.

What we are seeing is a fundamental market shift. Due to high inflation and higher costs of doing business, companies are starting to trim back in certain areas. Companies like Amazon and Meta, which hired excessively during the pandemic are not seeing the need for the additional headcount and are trimming back. Amazon had offered voluntary separation. My buddy took one; albeit stupidly, IMHO.

GM may be cutting certain positions but hiring in others where there is greater need for headcount (i.e. software engineering). It's a smart move that better positions GM.

Being laid off sucks. I've gone thru it twice in my career. I went back to school the first time. The second time (in 2020) was a special case. I had handcuffs, so I couldn't be let go until after a certain time, and my payout was significant. So, even if I couldn't find a job immediately (a real prospect given the unknown nature of the pandemic mid-2020), I would actually be OK for several years. Thankfully, I got hired into a FAANG almost immediately but chose to leave last year because I operationally, I think they were burying themselves hiring the wrong people.

 

[gkr778]

GM may be cutting certain positions but hiring in others where there is greater need for headcount (i.e. software engineering). It's a smart move that better positions GM.

+1
Hopefully GM will optimize the quality of its workforce as much as its quantity. Its U.S. marketing and PR operations for example is severely lacking in the former.

 

[BORG]

This has happened before and it will happen again...and again...again...again... You really can set your clock by it. If I worked in Detroit, I would just count on being on the chopping block every 10 years and expect the worst. That cycle of growth and contraction may be caused by different triggers, but it ALWAYS happens.

 

[AWHoden]

Well this isn't really unique to the auto industry right now. All industries are starting to cut back given the economic recession that's upon us. This is a smart move for all companies to re-evaluate their costs as the economy slows. I don't know why GM is blaming the transition to EVs. They require almost the same amount of development as an ICE unless they're farming out battery R&D to other companies, which GM isn't. The only difference is that instead of ICE engine engineers you need battery technology specialist. I would think it's roughly the same number of people.

Technically we aren't in a recession.....yet. Yes, time to cut the fat.

 

[gkr778]

Executive positions that should be eliminated permanently at GM:

• Chief Sustainability Officer (currently held by Kristen Siemen)
• Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer (currently held by Telva McGruder)

GM executives that should be fired and replaced:

• Chief Marketing Officer Deborah Wahl
• President Mark Reuss
• Senior Vice President of Global Communications Craig Buchholz

One down, four to go! Deborah Wahl is retiring from GM effective March 31, 2023.

 

[Neanderthal]

I'd love to get a separation offer.
Would retire immediately if I got one.

I'll give Lutz a call. I have quite a bit of pull with the GM higher echelons. Have no fear!

 

[NHRATA01]

I'll give Lutz a call.

You rang?

Incidentally my father's name was also Bob and he worked for GM for 30 years. He has a picture of him and his namesake (who was with Chrysler at the time) shaking hands wearing matching "my name is" stickers from a conference back in the 80s or early 90s.