CEO Barra tells members of Congress: GM must move forward
WASHINGTON — General Motors CEO Mary Barra told members of Congress upset about impending layoffs Wednesday that while she understands that the federal government spent billions on saving the company a decade ago, she must look forward to positioning the company for growth.
“We are in an industry that is transforming faster than I’ve seen in a 30plus-year career,” said Barra, referring to technological, consumer and other forces that she has said forced the company to announce last week the idling of plants in Detroit-Hamtramck, Lordstown, Ohio, and elsewhere and the loss of some 14,000 employees.
After meeting with U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown and Rob Portman, both of Ohio, Barra, in her first public appearance since last week’s announcement, said GM is working with the UAW to determine how best to use the socalled “unallocated” plants and how to train workers to put them into positions open elsewhere.
Brown, a Democrat, and Portman, a Republican, said they both pressed Barra to get a new product in Lordstown. Knowing that GM is set to enter negotiations with the UAW for how and where its workforce will be placed, Brown said he’s looking for a solution “sooner rather than later” and that he expects GM to stand up for its workers.
“The government saved this company,” he said, referring to the rescue of General Motors in 2009 and 2010.
Portman said he spoke to President Donald Trump again on Wednesday about the GM cuts and that he “is very committed to keeping this assembly plant in Ohio.” Trump has threatened GM with tariffs and a loss of subsidies for electric vehicle sales if it follows through on the cuts.
Portman said that he and Brown understood that sales of the Cruze — made in Lordstown — were not as good as they had been and that the company faced competitive pressures, including a slowdown in sales. He also said that when he urged Barra to put another product in Lordstown, she said she’ll “keep an open mind but she doesn’t want to raise expectations.”
As to threats from Trump and others in Washington, she simply said, “Where we are focused right now is on the workers.” She also noted the company has invested some $22 billion in its U.S. operations since the government rescue in 2009.
Earlier Wednesday, Barra met with new members of Congress — including Michigan’s four new members — at Harvard’s Kennedy School,
The discussion was off-the-record, part of a multiday program to bring together experts and officials and incoming members of Congress. U.S. Reps.-elect Andy Levin and Haley Stevens, both Michigan Democrats, confirmed for the Free Press that Barra spoke, and they generally characterized her comments.
Levin said the first question asked of Barra — who was on a panel with executives from Boeing and Johnson & Johnson — concerned the reductions.
Barra also met privately after the panel discussion with Michigan’s four new members ahead of what were expected to be other meetings in Washington, D.C., this week.
Both Levin and Stevens said that when questions were brought up about GM’s sending production of the Blazer to Mexico rather than locating those jobs in Lordstown, Barra said that decision happened at a time when Lordstown was full with three shifts. Meanwhile, Stevens said Barra voiced concerns about emission standards still being unresolved and Trump administration tariffs, which GM and Boeing said have hurt competitiveness.
U.S. Reps.-elect Elissa Slotkin and Rashida Tlaib, Michigan Democrats, brought up questions about GM’s broader goals and environmental concerns, respectively. Stevens, for her part, characterized it as a productive meeting overall but said there “are still questions around job loss and what will happen to displaced workers.”
Tlaib issued a scathing statement, saying that Detroit and the U.S. have “paid a terribly steep price to placate and keep GM afloat. Now, as we fight to rebuild our regional economy and create living-wage jobs, GM is repaying our sacrifice and investment by slashing thousands of jobs and closing the plant an entire neighborhood was torn down to build.”
“I’ll always stand in solidarity with workers and for what’s right and this is simply wrong,” she said, adding that it “reaffirms my commitment” to making demands upfront of corporations that receive public subsidies.
Stevens said that while “changing consumer dynamics” apparently forced the company to make its recent announcement, she’s “optimistic that GM wants to lead” in moving to zeroemission and autonomous vehicles.
“Reminds me of a race to the moon but this commands and inspires the innovation agenda to create jobs and lead industrial global economy,” she said. “At the same time, unions need a bigger seat at the table and we need a plan to address painful job loss.”
“We were grateful with her taking the time to meet with us. We all want to have a good relationship with her and GM,” said Levin. “We impressed upon her that we want to partner with GM to make sure as many as the next generation of vehicles (as possible) are built in Michigan. We want to work with GM and the UAW to make sure that happens.”
Levin said that while he and the others were obviously concerned about the loss of jobs, Barra didn’t speak too specifically about the company’s plans — especially since it is headed into negotiations with the UAW.
He also said that while GM is clearly “concerned about its competitive position,” he and other members are focused on “trade policy and labor policy that raises the standard of American workers and workers in other countries.”
In a statement released Wednesday evening, Barra said: “I had very constructive meetings with members of Congress from Ohio and Maryland. I share their concerns about the impact the actions we announced last week will have on our employees, their families and the communities.
These were very difficult decisions — decisions I take very personally. I informed the members that many hourly employees at the impacted U.S. plants will have the opportunity to work at other U.S. GM plants and that we are committed to working with them to minimize the impact on the communities. I also informed them that all salaried GM workers impacted by these actions are being offered outplacement services to help them transition to new jobs.”