In a move reminiscent of 2005, General Motors is shutting down eight plants, killing their sedans and reducing staff and salaries. Is there a recession looming, or did everyone stop buying sedans? Or is this a tariff issue with the price of steel?

President Donald Trump took General Motors CEO Mary Barra to task on Monday after her announcement to close four plants in the US because of lack of demand for sedans.

The President spoke to reporters in Mississippi, said that he had talked to Barra about the closures, “I was very tough. I spoke with her when I heard they were closing and I said, you know, this country has done a lot for General Motors,” Trump said, referring to the federal bailout of the company after the 2008 financial crash. It was Bush and Obama that were responsible for creating the bailout of General Motors.

He later repeated: “You know, the United States saved General Motors, and for her to take that company out of Ohio is not good.” Ohio has eighteen electoral votes. Ohio was won by Donald Trump as was Michigan, but Michigan recently went blue in the mid-term election. In one stump speech last year, President Trump told Ohioans not to move, that the jobs will be coming back, so they shouldn’t move, they shouldn’t sell their house.

In a press release, General Motors outlined the cuts, kills, and reductions;

With changing customer preferences in the U.S. and in response to market-related volume declines in cars, future products will be allocated to fewer plants next year.

Three Assembly plants that will be unallocated in 2019 include plants in Canada and the United States:
Oshawa Assembly in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada.
Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly in Detroit.
Lordstown Assembly in Warren, Ohio.

The Hamtramck and Lordstown plants have been referred to as the historical backbone of GM manufacturing. Oshawa is a small town, sort of like Flint, Michigan. The closure will certainly affect the entire town as the plant has been open for over 100 years.

Two Propulsion plants that will be unallocated in 2019 include:
Baltimore Operations in White Marsh, Maryland.
Employees
Hourly – 253
Salaried – 57

Warren Transmission Operations in Warren, Michigan.
Employees
Hourly – 265
Salaried – 70

In addition to the previously announced closure of the assembly plant in Gunsan, Korea, GM will cease the operations of two additional plants outside North America by the end of 2019.

For now, the Corvette is still alive, but all of the sedans, including the Plug-in hybrid Chevy Volt is gone;
Buick LaCrosse
Chevrolet Volt
Cadillac CT6
Chevrolet Impala
Chevrolet Cruze
Chevrolet Impala
Cadillac XTS
Previous generation Silverado/Sierra (K2 Trucks)
6-speed transmissions (for XTS, Impala, Malibu, Volt, Acadia) and the Global Front Wheel Electric (GFE) (for Volt)
Full-size pickup transmissions (T1 and K2)

Stocks are fluctuating more, corporate debt is at historic highs, home sales have fallen off this year as mortgage rates have risen along with home prices. The average price of a vehicle is $35,000 and global trade is down due in part to Trump’s tariffs, which are causing raw material prices to rise in the U.S. We may not see a recession in the next 6 months to a year, but 2020 does not look good, and it appears we are already in a slowdown.

Along with the factories and cars that are being closed down, 14,700 employees will be laid off, calling them “involuntary separations” eliminating about 15% of its salaried jobs. While America has a shortage of workers right now, it will mean these displaced employees are going to have to move to find a new job. This is not unheard of; when Henry Ford started his manufacturing plant many people moved from the South to Michigan to work. If there are jobs in the South, those Southern ancestors may be moving back to the South to work on European or Asian cars.

GM stock is up over the news that there will be an improvement of $6 Billion by 2020; $4.5B in cost savings and $1.5B in Capex savings.

Pre-tax charges of $3.0 to $3.8 billion
• Up to $1.8 billion of non-cash asset write-downs and
pension charges
• Up to $2.0 billion of employee-related and other cash
expenses

This also gives General Motors the ability to restructure for new automobiles and technology including electric and autonomous cars.

A list of all plants and the vehicles they produce are provided below. Which two other plants outside of North America (besides Korea) will be shut down?

General Motors North America Plants

Arlington

Chevrolet Tahoe

GMC Yukon

Cadillac Escalade

GMC Yukon XL

Cadillac Escalade ESV

Bowling Green

Chevrolet Corvette

CAMI

Chevrolet Equinox

Detroit/Hamtramck – shutting down
Employees
Hourly – 1348
Salaried – 194

Chevrolet Volt

Buick LaCrosse

Chevrolet Impala

Cadillac CT6

Fairfax

Chevrolet Malibu

Cadillac XT4

Flint

Chevrolet LD Silverado Crew Cabs

GMC HD Sierra Regular and Double Cabs

Chevrolet HD Silverado Regular Cabs

Fort Wayne

Chevrolet LD and HD Silverado Regular Cabs

GMC LD and HD Sierra Regular Cabs

Lansing Delta Township

Buick Enclave

Chevrolet Traverse

Lansing Grand River

Chevrolet Camaro Convertible

Chevrolet Camaro

Cadillac ATS Coupe

Cadillac CTS

Cadillac ATS

Lordstown – shutting down
Employees
Hourly – 1435
Salaried – 183

Chevrolet Cruze

Orion

Chevrolet Sonic

Chevrolet Bolt

Opel Bev

Oshawa #1
Employees
Hourly – 2600
Salaried – 300

Chevrolet Impala

Cadillac XTS

Oshawa #2

Chevrolet Silverado

GMC Sierra

Ramos Arizpe Vehicle Assembly

Chevrolet Cruze Hb

Chevrolet Cruze

Chevrolet Equinox

Holden Equinox

San Luis Potosi

Chevrolet Equinox

GMC Terrain

Chevrolet Trax

Silao Assembly Plant

Chevrolet Ld Silverado Crew Cabs

GMC Ld Sierra Crew Cabs

Spring Hill

GMC Acadia

Holden Acadia

Cadillac Xt5

Springfield (Navistar)

Chevrolet Express

GMC Savana

Wentzville

Chevrolet Colorado

GMC Canyon

Chevrolet Express

GMC Savana

GM INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS

Rayong Truck

Chevrolet TrailBlazer

Holden Colorado

Chevrolet Colorado Crew Cab

Holden Colorado Crew Cab

Chevrolet EXT Cab

Holden Colorado EXT Cab

Chevrolet Colorado Regular Cab

Holden Colorado Regular Cab

Asaka City

Chevrolet Cobalt

Daewoo Lacetti

Chevrolet Matiz

Chevrolet Spark

Chevrolet Nexia

Bupyeong 1

Buick Encore

Chevrolet Trax

Holden Trax

Opel/Vauxhall Mokka

Bupyeong 2

Chevrolet/Holden Captiva

Chevrolet Malibu

Chevrolet Aveo

Holden Barina

Cairo

Isuzu N Series (Isuzu)

Chevrolet Rt50

Chevrolet Move

Chevrolet Optra

Chevrolet Lanos

Chevrolet Aveo

Changwon

Mktdivnd Damos

Mktdivnd Labo

Chevrolet Spark

Holden Barina Spark

Opel Karl

Chongqing I

Wuling Sunshine

Wuling Sunshine S

Wuling Sunshine V

Wuling Sunshine Pickup Single Cab

Wuling Sunshine Pickup Crew Cab

Wuling Hongguang

Wuling Hongguang S

Dongyue North

Chevrolet Sail

Chevrolet Lova

Buick Envision

Dongyue South

Buick Encore

Chevrolet Trax

Gunsan

Chevrolet Cruze

Holden Astra

Hanoi

Chevrolet Captiva

Chevrolet Cruze

Chevrolet Spark

Chevrolet Aveo

Jinqiao Cadillac

Cadillac Xt5

Cadillac Ct6

Buick Gl8

Jinqiao North

Buick Velite 5

Chevrolet Malibu Xl

Cadillac Xts

Chevrolet Malibu

Jinqiao South

Cadillac Ats-L

Buick Lacrosse

Buick Regal

Khorezm

Mktdivnd Damas

Mktdivnd Labo

Sgmw Baojun

Baojun 510

Baojun 530

Baojun 730 My16

Baojun 730 My17

Baojun E100

Liuzhou

Wuling Hongguang S

Baojun 310

Baojun 310W

Baojun 360

Baojun 510

Norsom I

Buick Gl8

Norsom II

Chevrolet Cruze Hb

Chevrolet Cruze

Buick Gl8

Norsom III

Buick Verano Gs

Buick Verano

Qingdao

Wuling Rongguang

Wuling Rongguang S

Wuling Rongguang L

Wuling Rongguang V

Wuling Rongguang Pickup Single Cab

Wuling Rongguang Pickup Crew Cab

Wuling Rongguang Xinka Pickup Single Cab

Wuling Rongguang Xinka Pickup Crew Cab

Wuling Hongguang S3

Talegon

Chevrolet Spark

Togliatti

Chevrolet Niva

Wuhan I

Buick Excelle Gt

Buick Excelle Gx

Chevrolet Cavalier

Wuhan II

Buick Excelle Gt

Buick Gl6

Chevrolet Equinox

Chevrolet Cavalier

GM SOUTH AMERICA

Bogotá (Colombia)

Chevrolet Sail HB

Chevrolet Sail NB

Chevrolet Spark (M300 HB and NB)

Chevrolet Bus – F Series (ISUZU)

Chevrolet Bus – LV

Chevrolet Bus – N Series

Gravatai (Brazil)

Chevrolet Onix

Chevrolet Onix Joy

Chevrolet Prisma

Chevrolet Prisma Joy

Rosario (Argentina)

Chevrolet Cruze

Chevrolet Cruze Sport6 (Hb)

Sao Caetano Du Sul (Brazil)

Chevrolet Onix Joy

Chevrolet Cobalt

Chevrolet Spin

Chevrolet Montana

Sao Jose Dos Campos (Brazil)

Chevrolet Trailblazer

Chevrolet S10

Quito (Ecuador)

Chevrolet Sail

Chevrolet Grand Vitara

Chevrolet Aveo Family

Chevrolet Dmax

Chevrolet N Series

Chevrolet F Series

Chevrolet C & E Series