General Motors will lay off 2,000 of its workers in the US. This has been revealed by the US automaker on Wednesday. The move is said to address the slow small car sales of GM. The affected hourly workers will not forward to January 2017.
GM's Lay Off Hourly Workers
According to The Detroit News, the announcement was the same day GM also mentioned about its more than $900 million investments. The automaker is set to cut the third shift workers at its Lansing Grand River Assembly Plant and the Lordstown Assembly Plant in Ohio. The lay off during the first quarter will apparently be able to match supply with demand.
The report added that 810 hourly workers and 29 salaried workers will be dismissed in the Lansing plant. That will be effective on Jan. 16, 2017. A spokesperson for GM also said that it will include more than 300 temporary workers. GM is building their Cadillac ATS, Cadillac CTS and Chevrolet Camaro in the Lansing car plant.
On the other hand, the Chevrolet Cruze is being built in the Lordstown car plant. 1,200 hourly workers and 43 salaried workers will be affected by the layoff. The plant's third shift will end on Jan. 23, 2017.
The Reason Behind The Lay Off
The Detroit News further reports that the production cuts of its two plants have something to do with customer's expectation. GM explained that it is becoming evident how customers pick crossovers and trucks instead of cars.
Along with other automakers, GM also suffered sales decline last month. Apparently, the sales of all four of their car plants are down sharply this year through October. This is compared to the same time period in 2015.
GM's $900 Million Investment
The company also shared that they will invest $211 million at Lansing Grand River. This will be for new tooling and equipment, according to WILX. Furthermore, the automaker also plans to add 32,000 square-foot to the body shop. It will also have $667.6 million investment in future products at Toledo Transmission. This will retain 739 jobs.
There will also be a $37 million investment at Bedford Casting Operations in Indiana. This will retain 45 jobs. Still, it will not make up for the jobs that would be lost.
