As part of a massive plan to cut costs, General Motors has announced that they will be closing a number of factories around the U.S. and Canada and will be discontinuing multiple passenger vehicles, including the Chevy Volt plug-in.
On Monday, General Motors reported that they intend to end production at their Lordstown Assembly plant in northeast Ohio; their Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly plant in southeast Michigan; their Oshawa Assembly plant in Ontario; their Baltimore Operations parts plant; and their Warren Transmission Operations plant in southeast Michigan by the end of 2019. In addition to closing down the factories, General Motors intends to cut 15 percent of their salaried workforce, estimating that 14,000 factory workers and white-collar employees will stand to lose their jobs.
Debbie Dingell, Detroit’s Democratic Party representative, expressed concern over General Motors’ recent announcements, stating:
“This is a warning and we all must be concerned about protecting jobs and keeping them in this country. I care deeply about working families hearing this news right now. If we want our auto industry to continue to be the global leader in transforming mobility, federal policy must ensure we keep them at the forefront of innovation and technology. Congress must work together on bipartisan policies that keep manufacturing jobs in this country, develops clean energy, and supports infrastructure to transform our mobility future.”
General Motors also announced that they intend to stop the future production of several passenger vehicles, most notable of which being the Chevy Volt plug-in. Chevy spokesman Kevin Kelly confirmed that beginning in March 2019, General Motors will no longer produce the Chevy Volt plug-in, Chevy Cruze, Chevy Impala, Cadillac XTS, and Buick LaCrosse.
While the demise of the Chevy Volt plug-in may come as a shock to many die-hard electric vehicle enthusiasts, General Motors has estimated that plant restructuring and layoffs will combine to free up $6 billion for the company by 2020.
Source: USA Today
