GM is laying off another 4,000 workers, the company acknowledged on Monday. The cuts are on top of thousands of job cuts the company announced last November. Those earlier cuts were concentrated on the factory floor, with GM shuttering five manufacturing plants in the United States and Canada. The new cuts, by contrast, are to salaried white-collar jobs. Individual workers will be notified over the next two weeks, the company said. GM has reported billions of dollars of profits over the last three quarters. But CEO Mary Barra argues that GM still needs to cut its costs to prepare for the dramatic changes facing the automotive industry in the coming years. In a November press release announcing the previous round of job cuts, Barra wrote that layoffs would "continue our transformation to be highly agile, resilient and profitable, while giving us the flexibility to invest in the future." Advertisement The auto industry is facing two potentially transformational changes to automotive technology: electrification and autonomy. GM has invested heavily in both trends. GM has developed electric vehicles like the Bolt. And in 2016 it acquired the self-driving startup Cruise—now viewed as a leading developer of autonomous vehicle software. These new technologies will require engineers and other professionals with different skills, and GM has continued to hire new personnel even as it prepared for this week's layoffs. GM's leading American rival, Ford, has also been looking to trim its workforce. The company acknowledged vague plans for job cuts last October. Ford is expected to lay off thousands of European workers over the course of 2019. Ford let around 400 American workers go last month; it's not clear if Ford will make further cuts in North America this year. Update: A GM spokesman argues that these aren't newly announced cuts, since the company's November press release stated that "actions are being taken to reduce salaried and salaried contract staff by 15 percent." But new details about the timing and number of layoffs were announced this week.<doc-sep>General Motors on Monday morning will start a weeks-long process of laying off close to 4,250 of its salaried North American employees, according to a report from The Detroit News. GM did not immediately respond to a request for comment. As part of a broader restructuring effort, the automaker will start reductions in its salaried workforce on Monday. More layoffs are expected to continue through February, the Detroit News reported. GM is expected to complete its plans to cut 15 percent of its salaried workforce by the end of this month. Prior to announcing its workforce reduction plans, however, it offered a voluntary buyout to more than 17,000 employees with more than 12 years of experience. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX BUSINESS APP In November, the company said it would cease operations at five North American plants, in addition to slashing its workforce, an effort to cut costs as it undergoes a restructuring process. GM also said it would cease production of six vehicles, including the Chevy Cruze.<doc-sep>According to reports from Automotive News The Detroit News , and CNN General Motors plans to begin laying off more than 4,000 salaried workers starting Monday morning. In a statement to AN, a spokesperson for the automaker said, "We are not confirming timing. Our employees are our priority. We will communicate with them first. "We've been expecting layoffs at General Motors since November, 2018. At the time, the Detroit-based automaker announced it would seek to shed 8,100 salaried employees, shut down five assembly plants in North America, and kill off several slow-selling models. One month earlier, GM offered buyout packages to 18,000 workers and said it would seek to cut its global workforce by 25 percent. A spokesperson said at the time the moves were "proactive steps to get ahead of the curve by accelerating our efforts to address overall business performance. "The cost-cutting moves are expected to save GM up to $2.5 billion in 2019 and as much as $6 billion by 2020.David Kudla, CEO and chief investment strategist of Mainstay Capital Management, referred to the impending culling as "Black Monday" and told The Detroit News that the layoffs would begin around 7:30 a.m. and continue in waves throughout the coming days and weeks.GM plans to deliver on its fourth-quarter and full-year 2018 earnings report on Wednesday. President Donald Trump plans to deliver the annual State of the Union address a day earlier on Tuesday. We expect to hear plenty more from both sides over the next several days.<doc-sep>This Mini Cooper is built to race. No, really Review: The Ghost is more modest and simple, but it's still a Rolls-Royce The McLaren Artura is an electric hybrid with the speed of a supercar These tiny cars are cute and easy to park. Will anyone want them? (CNN Business) — Layoffs for about 4,000 salaried staff at General Motors are due to start Monday – a previously announced move that comes just as President Donald Trump prepares to trumpet American manufacturing at next week’s State of the Union address. The layoffs are part of a 15% reduction in white collar jobs in North America that the automaker first announced back in November. At the same time, it announced plans to close four US plants as well as a fifth in Canada. The job cuts and plant closings are part of ongoing cost reductions to free up $6 billion annually to invest in a new generation of autos, such as electric and self-driving vehicles. It is also making a push to develop a ride hailing service that will allow GM to make more money by selling rides to customers rather than vehicles. But the move enraged Trump, who repeatedly lambasted GM CEO Mary Barra over the decision. In his rebuke of GM, Trump focused on the closures in Ohio, a state he won in the 2016 election. The company also announced plans to shutter facilities in Maryland and Michigan. He said the company would face punishment for the closures, which included a plant in Lordstown, Ohio, that Trump personally promised to revive during the 2016 campaign. The president said he was “very tough” on Barra in a phone call after the company announced the closures, and referred to the federal auto bailout money the company received in 2008. “You know, the United States saved General Motors, and for her to take that company out of Ohio is not good,” Trump said in November. He commiserated about the closures in a series of phone calls with his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau. And he claimed GM would soon announce steps that could counteract the effect of the plant closures, though what those actions are remain unclear. Trump is due to tout his economic successes on Tuesday during the annual State of the Union address to Congress. A senior administration official said Friday the speech’s theme would be “Choosing greatness.” Overall, Trump is presiding over a strong American economy. Friday’s job report beat expectations, showing more than 300,000 jobs were created last month. But trade tensions and global economic anxiety have led some companies to rethink their business plans and sparked concerns about the risk of a slowdown. The GM plants, which include about 6,000 hourly jobs, have yet to close, GM is moving ahead with the salaried staff reductions, a GM spokesman confirmed Friday. The timing of the layoffs was first reported by the Detroit News. The company had about 2,300 salaried staff accept voluntary buyout packages that were offered to 18,000 employees. In addition, there were 1,500 contract employees who were not retained by the company. That leaves the remainder of the 8,000 planned job cuts to be accomplished with the involuntary layoffs. GM (GM) is due to report financial results Wednesday and it is expected to report lower earnings.<doc-sep>
General Motors will begin laying off 4,000 salaried workers on Monday, according to CNN. GM said in November that it would eliminate 15 percent of its corporate workers and 25 percent of its executives and close as many as four manufacturing plants in the United States. The layoffs come as the company is trying to reduce costs and expenses by $6 billion before the end of 2020. “The actions we are taking today continue our transformation to be highly agile, resilient and profitable, while giving us the flexibility to invest in the future,” GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra said when the cuts were first announced. “We recognize the need to stay in front of changing market conditions and customer preferences to position our company for long-term success.” ADVERTISEMENT GM said the layoffs announced were not new and were part of the announced November layoffs. "In these release, we outline plans to reduce salaried headcount by 15%. The salaried reductions reported yesterday are part of that 15% previously announced actions," a spokesperson said. "We are not confirming the specific timing for when those reductions will occur." Politicians from both sides of the aisle expressed anger over the layoffs when they were announced. “We are now looking at cutting all @GM subsidies, including … for electric cars,” President Donald Trump Donald TrumpTrump lashes out after grand jury seated for New York criminal probe Schumer tees up vote on Jan. 6 commission bill Senators struggle to save Jan. 6 commission MORE tweeted in November, adding that he was “very disappointed.” “This decision is corporate greed at its worst,” said Sen. Sherrod Brown Sherrod Campbell BrownAbortion fight front and center ahead of midterms Five reasons why cryptocurrencies are raising alarm Democrats worry Jan. 6 probe could divert their agenda MORE (D-Ohio) in a November statement. Major automakers, including GM, Ford and Fiat Chrysler, have made significant cuts to their workforces in the U.S. and in Canada in recent months, citing rising costs due to the Trump administration’s tariffs and long-term declines in sales. GM said has said regulations on foreign steel and aluminum cost it $1 billion. Trump will deliver a State of the Union address on Tuesday night.