General Motors to lay off 14,700 employees in ‘staffing transformation’

The carmaker is looking to tighten its offerings and boost efficiency, but its plan means that 15 percent of its salaried workforce will lose their jobs.

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In a move that stunned many, General Motors announced a plan to cut rising costs and help it avoid bankruptcy amid declining car sales.

The carmaker said it’s putting more stock in future vehicle technologies, such as electric and self-driving cars. General Motors also announced that it’s “unallocating” its factories in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada; Detroit; Warren, Ohio; White Marsh, Maryland; and Warren; Michigan. It will close two more factories outside North America by the end of 2019.

The announcement also included heavy news for General Motors’ workforce.

The Guardian reported:

More than 6,000 blue-collar jobs will be hit by GM plans to stop production at a car plant in Canada and two more in Ohio and Michigan. Two transmission plants in the US will also be mothballed, putting the future of those plants in doubt.

The cuts will also include 15% of GM’s 54,000 white-collar workforce, about 8,100 people, and come as 18,000 GM workers have been asked to accept voluntary redundancy.

On Monday, General Motors tweeted:

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