In a Blow to Trump Policies, General Motors Slashes 14,700 Jobs

General Motors Co said Monday it will cut production in five of its facilities in Canada and the United States resulting in slashing of 14,700 jobs. More than 6,000 blue collar jobs will also be affected by this decision. This is a direct impact of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policies. 

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The announcement is the biggest restructuring in North America for the U.S. No. 1 carmaker since its bankruptcy a decade ago.

GM plans to halt production next year at three assembly plants - Lordstown, Ohio, Hamtramck, Michigan, and Oshawa, Ontario. The company also plans to stop building several models now assembled at those plants, including the Chevrolet Cruze, the Cadillac CT6 and the Buick LaCrosse. The Cruze compact car will be discontinued in the U.S. market in 2019.

Plants in Baltimore, Maryland, and Warren, Michigan that assemble powertrain components will have no products assigned to them after 2019 and thus are at risk of closure, the company said. It will also close two factories outside North America, but did not identify them.

"We are right-sizing capacity for the realities of the marketplace," Chief Executive Mary Barra said, adding that the cuts were prompted by auto industry changes. Barra said the company will double resources dedicated to electric and self-driving vehicles over the next two years.

The United Auto Workers’ (UAW) union vowed to "confront this decision by GM through every legal, contractual and collective bargaining avenue open to our membership."

"General Motors decision today to stop production at the Lordstown, Ohio, and Hamtramck, Michigan, assembly plants will idle thousands of workers, and will not go unchallenged by the UAW," Terry Dittes, UAW Vice President in charge of negotiations with GM, said.

In a statement, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan described the news as "troubling" and said that the city's economic development team and the UAW union are "working together to come up with a solution that works for GM and the employees."

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he spoke with Barra and expressed "deep disappointment."

Its North American salaried workforce, including engineers and executives, will shrink by 15 percent, or about 8,000 jobs. The company said it will cut executive ranks by 25 percent to "streamline decision making."