General Motors will cut up to 14,000 workers in North America and put five plants up for possible closure.

 

通用汽车将在北美裁员14000人，5座工厂可能将关停。

 

The reduction includes about 8,000 white-collar employees, or 15 percent of GM's North American white-collar workforce¹. Some will take buyouts while others will be laid off.

 

At the factories, around 3,300 blue-collar workers could lose jobs in Canada and another 2,600 in the U.S., but some U.S. workers could transfer to truck or SUV factories that are increasing production.

 

The company also said it will stop operating two additional factories outside North America by the end of next year, in addition to a previously² announced plant closure in Gunsan, Korea.

 

The restructuring reflects the changing U.S. and North American auto³ markets as a dramatic shift away from cars toward SUVs and trucks continues. In October, almost 65 percent of new vehicles sold in the U.S. were trucks or SUVs. It was about 50 percent cars just five years ago.

 

GM is shedding cars largely because it doesn't make money on them, Citi analyst⁴ Itay Michaeli wrote in a note to investors⁵.

 

"We estimate sedans operate at a significant loss, hence the need for classic restructuring," he wrote.

 

General Motors Co.'s pre-emptive strike to get leaner before the next downturn likely will be followed by Ford⁶ Motor Co., which has said it is restructuring and will lay off an unspecified number of white-collar workers. Toyota Motor Corp. also has discussed cutting costs, even though it's building a new assembly plant in Alabama.

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