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General Motors announced Monday a severe weight loss, with thousands of job cuts, to be more competitive in an industry in full revolution, but the first American car manufacturer caused the ire of Donald Trump.
In total, GM will eliminate 15% of the group's jobs in 2019, by ceasing production at seven sites: one in Oshawa, Canada, four in the United States and two outside North America.
By December 2017, the last available count, GM employed 180,000 people worldwide, but the group gave no indication of the exact number of jobs deleted.
"The measures we are taking today allow us to continue our transformation to be more agile, resilient and profitable," said CEO Mary Barra, quoted in a statement.
"We are aware that we need to anticipate market changes and consumer tastes so that our company is well positioned to succeed in the long term," she added.
Investors appreciated the news: GM shares were up close to 4.8% at closing.
Donald Trump, on the other hand, told Ms Barra that he was "dissatisfied". "I was very tough with her," said the president, who has made the preservation of industrial jobs his hobbyhorse and unleashed trade hostilities with major US trading partners to preserve them.
"This country has done a lot for General Motors (to save the company from bankruptcy during the financial crisis, ed)," said Mr. Trump, brandishing a veiled threat: "They have an interest in returning to Ohio and quickly, we can really put pressure on them. "
The powerful union UAW also plays on the register of "America first" dear to the president, accusing GM of manufacturing in Mexico and China to re-import cars in the United States.
GM denied and the builder also indirectly answered Mr. Trump, pointing out that he remained massively present in Ohio.
– Savings for investing –
This shock treatment should allow General Motors to make $ 6 billion in savings by the end of 2020.
Among the staff removed, General Motors is particularly attacking management, which should be reduced by a quarter to ease the decision process.
The US manufacturer also said that these actions would weigh on the financial performance of the last quarter of 2018 and the first of 2019. The amount of the exceptional charge will amount to between 3 and 3.8 billion dollars.
But the CEO insisted that GM "wanted to be sure to invest," especially in autonomous or electric vehicles, at a time when the North American auto market will slow down.
Like Ford, General Motors intends to concentrate its production on the most profitable vehicles, such as pickups and SUVs.
"Some vehicles will no longer be available in North America," said Ms. Barra, such as the Chevrolet Cruze, a model that is sold at less than $ 17,000 in its base version.
The production of the Volt, a hybrid car is also stopped.
– Trudeau disappointed –
The announcement of the cessation of production at the Oshawa site in Ontario, which employs about 2,500 people, has caused a shock wave in Canada and the Prime Minister himself has reacted very quickly.
"For generations, GM workers have been the heart and soul of Oshawa," a city some 60 kilometers east of Toronto, Trudeau told Twitter. He promised to do everything to help people. From the beginning of the morning, the employees disengaged at the request of the unions.
Their anguish was palpable. "It's going to affect my family and myself, if we do not have any more jobs, we'll have to sell the house, I'll become what?", Asks Karin Wright, unionized employee of the factory.
In addition to the Oshawa assembly site, General Motors wants to cease operations at four sites in the United States (two in Ohio, one in Maryland and one assembly site in Detroit).
Two other sites will be closed outside of North America, but GM has not yet specified which ones. The group had previously announced the closure next year of the Gunsan plant in South Korea.
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