DRIVING OFF A CLIFF
GM CEO: Trump’s tariffs take toll Car giant to slash up to 14,000 jobs
He’s the li’l engine who couldn’t.
The manufacturing motor President Trump vowed to jump-start in the nation’s heartland sputtered and stalled Monday when General Motors announced it would cut as many as 14,000 jobs and possibly more — many of them based in the Midwest.
The iconic auto manufacturer, which oversees production of Chevrolet, Cadillac and Buick, is targeting five plants for possible closure as part of the massive downsizing — just months after it warned that Trump’s tough talk on tariffs could lead to “fewer jobs.”
More than 8,000 white-collar workers will either take buyouts or be laid off, and roughly 6,000 factory workers could lose their jobs in the U.S. and Canada. Earlier this year, Ford Motor also made similar job cuts and said it would stop production on sedans for the U.S. market.
“We don’t like it,” Trump said Monday when asked about GM’s announcement. “We have a lot of pressure on them. They say Chevy Cruze is not selling well, then I say get a car that is selling well and get it back in.”
He also said he spoke to GM CEO Mary Barra “and I stressed the fact that I am not happy with what she did.”
The factories that GM is targeting are in Michigan — which faces two plant closures — Ohio, Maryland and Canada.
Last year Trump — who loves to use the slogan “Promises Made, Promises Kept” — addressed a crowd just miles from the GM plant in Lordstown, Ohio, that’s now slated to close and reassured locals that their jobs were safe and more were in the pipeline.
“They’re all coming back,” he said. “Don’t move, don’t sell your house.”
GM’s shock announcement Monday came several months after the American automaker warned that Trump’s tariff plans could “lead to less investment, fewer jobs and lower wages for our employees.”
Barra also said GM is refocusing its attention on self-driving and electric cars so it can “stay in front of changing market conditions and customer preferences.” Its workforce will now be cut by roughly 15% as part of the downsizing.
Trump in July slapped steep taxes on billions of dollars worth of goods from the European Union, Canada, Mexico and China — and those countries retaliated with levies on thousands of U.S. products.
Elected officials, union heads and academics — all citing Trump’s many campaign promises to revitalize American manufacturing — viewed the GM announcement as a fundamental failure of his pledge to create jobs.
“[Trump] was running around saying the auto industry was building more plants and creating more jobs,”
said Sharon Block, director of Harvard Law School’s Labor and Worklife Program. “This would suggest, again, that he wasn’t being truthful with the American people.”
Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) said in a statement concerning the Lordstown plant that GM has “turned its back on us” and that Trump “has been asleep at the switch.”
“We tried to get his attention on this issue two years ago. He promised us that his massive corporate tax cut would lead to dramatic reinvestments in our communities,” Ryan tweeted.
“That clearly is not happening. The [Mahoning] Valley has been yearning for the Trump administration to come here, roll up their sleeves and help us fight for this recovery. What we’ve gotten instead are broken promises and petty tweets.”
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) also blamed Trump for the layoffs and closures.
“GM’s announcement shows President Trump’s tax giveaway to corporapolicies tions and poorly designed economic are not helping working people,” he said.
Trump on Monday insisted the layoffs were not connected to his tariff plan. Fellow Republicans joined him in pointing their fingers at GM, which is the largest automaker in the U.S.
Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) said he’s “deeply frustrated” with GM’s decision and said he is “disappointed with how the hardworking employees there have been treated throughout this process.”
The United Automobile Workers union also slammed GM. Union VP Terry Dittes called its decision “a slap in the face,” considering the employee concessions and the taxpayer-funded bailout of GM during the national financial meltdown 10 years ago.
“GM’s production decisions, in light of employee concessions during the economic downturn and a taxpayer bailout from bankruptcy, puts profits before the working families of this country whose personal sacrifices stood with GM during those dark days,” he said. “These decisions are a slap in the face to the memory and recall of that historical American-made bailout.”
The closure announcement comes at a time when consumers are shifting away from cars to trucks and SUVs, according to Barra. The Ohio plant makes the Chevrolet Cruze compact car, which likely will no longer be sold in the U.S. at some point next year.
She said the industry is moving toward electric propulsion, autonomous vehicles and ride-sharing, and GM must adjust.
Barra said GM is making the cuts “to get in front of it while the company is strong and while the economy is strong.” Barra was set to meet with White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow late Monday.
Aside from Lordstown, other plants expected to close are located in Detroit and Warren, Mich.; White Marsh, Md., and Oshawa in Ontario, Canada.
North of the border, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement that GM workers “have been part of the heart and soul of Oshawa for generations.”
“We’ll do everything we can to help the families affected by this news get back on their feet,” he said. “Yesterday, I spoke with @GM’s Mary Barra to express my deep disappointment in the closure.”
Former Canadian Auto Workers President Ken Lewenza called the expected closure a “betrayal,” considering past support from the Canadian government.
“Whatever happened to the spirit of negotiations from 2008 to 2009?” he said, according to CBC News. “General Motors was on their knees. They couldn’t get a dime from any financial institution.”
The Oshawa plant will stop making the Impala, Cadillac XTS and 2018 full-size pickups in the fourth quarter of next year.
GM said the moves will save $6 billion in cash by the end of next year.