Trump threatens to remove GM’s subsidies

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump threatened on Tuesday to eliminate subsidies for General Motors Co (GM) in retaliation for the automaker cutting US jobs and plants, and the automaker also took fire from Canadian political and labor leaders for cutbacks there.

“The US saved General Motors, and this is the THANKS we get! We are now looking at cutting all GM subsidies, including ... for electric cars,” Trump said on Twitter.

Trump did not explain what “subsidies” he was referring to.

GM electric vehicles are eligible for a US$7,500 (RM31,400) tax credit under federal law, but it is not clear how the administration could restrict those credits or if Trump had other subsidies in mind.

Trump’s harsh words rattled investors, who bid down GM shares by 2.6% on Tuesday after sending them up on Monday in response to the automaker’s cost-cutting.

Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “discussed their disappointment in the announced closures of General Motors plants in their respective countries” during a phone call on Tuesday, White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said.

The wrath of the leaders of the United States and Canada dramatised the challenges GM and its Detroit rivals will face as they restructure to cope with the most dramatic technology and market shifts in decades.

Trump has made boosting auto jobs a key priority during his almost two years in office and has often attacked automakers on Twitter for not doing enough to boost US employment.

The Republican president on

Tuesday escalated his attacks on GM’s plan to cut 15,000 jobs and mothball five North American factories, including four in the United States. Among those four is a car factory in northeast Ohio, a state critical to victory in the 2020 presidential campaign.

GM said in a statement following Trump’s comments that it was “committed to maintaining a strong manufacturing presence” in the United States after investing US$22 billion in operations here since 2009 and will add new jobs in electrification and autonomous vehicles.

The cuts will “position the company for long-term success and maintain and grow American jobs,” GM said, adding that many workers at impacted plants will be able to move to other GM factories. – Reuters