General Motors CEO Mary Barra sat down with CNBC to discuss its plan to invest $1.8B in the U.S. while adding 700 new jobs across six states. The interview happened as the automaker announced some of the money and jobs it plans to invest would go into its Orion Township, Michigan factory to produce a new Chevrolet electric vehicle. The plant will receive $300M and gain 400 new jobs. It currently employs around 880 hourly and 130 salaried workers.Â
“When we look at the architect that this vehicle is coming off of, and there’ve been significant enhancements, but it makes sense because the Chevrolet Bolt EV is built at Orion and this is a great workforce,” Mary Barra said in the interview. “So there’s capacity here to be able to do that, and there’re synergies as well.”
According to General Motors, the new Chevrolet EV will be “designed and engineered off an advanced version of the current award-winning Bolt EV architecture.” GM is keeping other details under wraps, adding that additional information will be released closer to the when the new vehicle begins production. But early hints of the possible EV have peeked out, as evident by the photo below. Early indications have suggested an electric Cadillac will be built at Orion, as well.
According to CNBC, General Motors has 73 percent plant efficiency, trailing its domestic rivals. GM had planned to build the new Chevrolet EV outside the U.S. but decided to build it in the U.S. due to the United States, Mexico, and Canada Agreement that’s pending legislative approval and could replace the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Mary Barra added that General Motors is committed to investing in the U.S. as the market grows for trucks and crossovers and EVs. “I believe as we continue to go forward not only maintaining the employment that we have here and the good paying jobs but creating more,” she said.Â
General Motors is restructuring its business model, aiming to invest in electric and autonomous vehicles going forward. However, to do that, the automaker has made some tough decisions like proposing to idle five North American factories that produce vehicles consumers aren’t buying like they used to. Its decision to idle factories has drawn the ire of U.S. President Trump in recent days.
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Comments
GM CEO Mary Barra will continue to be President Donald Trump’s punching bag when he sees GM closing manufacturing facilities in the United States then expand similar facilities in Mexico and Brazil; it’s obvious that Mary Barra does NOT believe in America First and one has to wonder whether for US National Security.. it’s time for General Motors Board of Directors to pick a CEO that thinks as Trump does by keeping as many jobs in the United States as possible.
no one believes car production is a matter of national security. not even trump.
i hope barra continues to do what she deems best for gm and not trump’s oversized ego.
Unfortunately Barra does what’s best for Barra.
I didn’t write this (on another thread) so not taking credit. But thought it was simple and to the point, and so true about Barra it needed to be posted here.
“GM sales down…
GM profits down…
GM vehicle rebates large and increasing fast…
GM closing plants and firing thousands of workers…
GM China gamble a failure and about to get worse…
GM stock continues to drop big time…
GM CEO Miss Mary Barra is a failure and needs to go. Period.
“
Actually, as a former Army officer with over 15 years active, all large production IS a matter of national security. If an enemy (say China) knows a country doesn’t have the means to produce heavy equipment and vehicles like tanks and trucks in time of war because all of it’s manufacturing has been outsourced to the enemy country, then it can’t defend itself…which means it is susceptible to manipulation and demands from other countries, and can be attacked at will. Also, it is easy to control a country that is weak economically because it gave away all it’s highly skilled and highly paid jobs to other countries.
Now if you are just a left-wing idiot that is still mad you lost the election and think making everything political makes the world a better place, well……
The GM CEO is there to maximize shareholder value, not to be a flag waver.
Except Miss Mary Barra’s GM stock is down another 5% this week once again…
Meanwhile, the American economy under President Donald Trump is booming even with GM dragging it down. Miss Mary might want to listen to a man that won an election that 98% of his enemies said was “impossible” and has the American economy running at the best levels in over 50 years. #WINNING
The GM CEO is there to stuff her pockets- period. Analysts says, Barra does. She is in full blown CYA mode.
Now for the not-fake-news left-wing bs from Omegatalon…Just the facts:
GM sales down…
GM profits down…
GM vehicle rebates large and increasing fast…
GM closing plants and firing thousands of workers…
GM China gamble a failure and about to get worse…
GM continues to drop big time…
GM CEO Miss Mary Barra is a failure and needs to go. Period.
Meant, President Trump’s economy is now the best performing in the world with record GDP, unemployment lowest in a century, stock market records, and GDP at a level the “smart people” said was impossible. Just sayin’…
P.S. Omegatalon is one of GMA bloggers. Notice how he is first to post after anything to do with Miss Machete Mary and/ or President Trump?
It is funny for those who are singing Machete Mary’s praises. I do not see any other automaker closing plants in this country or disinvesting. Usually plants close when people are not buying the product. The ONLY one to blame is upper management. Tariffs, unions, Trump or whatever has NOTHING to do with the fact that Barra and her clowns misread the market and did not plan accordingly ala Ford, Toyota, Honda, FCA, etc.
Not a huge Mary Barra fan but I also don’t like Trump.
Not a huge fan of Barra but do love President Trump.
Steve/ Omegatalon/ Z/28 Edward M Pate conveniently all appear at the same time when a Mary Barra/ President Trump article appears on GMA? Hmmmm….
Too bad GM is failing under the helm of Miss Mary “Machete” Barra. One small investment won’t make up for the billions of dollars in plant closures she made and 20,000 jobs she cut recently. Meanwhile Ford, FCA, Toyota, Honda, Meredes, BMW, etc. all have no problem investing billions in America and hiring American workers to support President Trump’s efforts to revitalize the economy.
Trump will win again in 2020. Miss Mary “Machete” Barra be around in 2020? Doubt it…
Not trying to be superficial or anything, but God Mary Barra is ugly and ragged looking. And her constant spin on bad news and blaming everyone but herself for her failures is like scratching a chalkboard with your nails over and over.
Grow up Mary and admit you f-ed up a lot at GM. Stop blaming others now that you were placed in the big-boy seat.
I guess she us trying to look “hip” to coincide with her triple zero vision. If she spent as much time on GMs interiors as she does trying to look like a teenager GM would be much better off.
The New York Times reports today on its front page that there is NO TRUMP-RUSSIAN COLLUSION!!!
Proof the fake news is faker than ever and our President is vindicated!!!!!
What say you Sean and Alex?
I’m over Barra, GM needs a real leader. Someone that will keep the bean counters in check and clean up some exec dead weight. Someone that will actually care about ALL of the vehicles they’re producing as a lot of GM’s product looks like it was phoned in.
Her proposed changes are a drop in the bucket compared to how many jobs have been lost in America and how many have been added in other countries. The only way GM is going to truly turn around is if they become a private company as right now they answer only to the investors who tell them “China’s what’s important we want every last penny”.
Does GM need any more jobs in the U.S., aside from what is planned? They’re getting rid of a ton of slow-selling, low-profit cars in low-demand segments, and they’re cutting back on all of the low-profit or unprofitable fleet sales. If they’re getting rid of all of that, they don’t need people to design, engineer, test, or build those vehicles and oversee those processes, and many positions in the fleet/commercial vehicle programs were deemed unnecessary. They’re freeing up money and resources to be able to invest more money and resources in safe, long-term assets and products. As GM introduces more new models, especially EVs, they’ll add more jobs. They’re adding 1000 jobs to Cruise Automation in 2019 alone.
Almost all of their investments in China, South America, and Mexico are for vehicles sold exclusively in foreign markets. Ford and GM have been doing things that way for decades. Ford is cutting jobs worldwide and investing hundreds of millions of dollars in producing EVs in Mexico, which will be sold here, but nobody seems to care about that. It’s just business.
And yes, China is what’s important. If you aren’t selling cars in China, you’re behind. It’s both the largest and one of the fastest growing markets in the industry. By establishing a strong presence in the Chinese market, GM can profit greatly. That’s just more money to invest in developing EVs and AVs!
Corporate suck ass!!!!
???? I’m a teenage car enthusiast with no job and two parents living paycheck to paycheck. I’m not some greedy upper-class snob, just someone who can look at things from multiple perspectives. The vast majority of people only know the personal side of GM’s job cuts, seeing news stories about unions striking, workers being layed off, and local economies being in great danger. What they don’t realize is that GM is doing the same thing as every other auto company. People want EVs but EV technology is minimal, so manufacturers are having to free up billions of dollars in order to research and develop electric vehicles. VAG, FMC, FCA, Tesla, and GM have cut tons of vehicles, programs, and, consequently, jobs recently. Most of those jobs will come back in the next 5 years as automakers develop EVs and AVs because they’re gonna need people to engineer and build all of those new vehicles. They’ve cut jobs from engine and transmission plants, but companies will add jobs to produce electric motors and batteries. They’ve cut people who engineered, designed, and built slow-selling or low-profit vehicles but will need people to do the same jobs with me electric vehicles.
As I mentioned, GM is doubling Cruise Automation’s workforce from 1000 employees to 2000, just in 2019. When GM bought it in 2016 for $1 billion, Cruise had less than 100 employees. Cruise is now worth $14 billion and it could easily hit $20 billion by this time next year. Smart moves from GM, such as the acquisition of Cruise and the elimination of low-profit investments, is what will allow the company to grow in the future instead of facing another bankruptcy.
But I’m just a kid, so I have a lot to learn.
I admire your stance and intelligence. As an older person, I do not have any interest in AVs and I do not think they are going to match up to the hype in the near future. In the near term, GM has to focus on delivering the best cars and trucks in the market- period. No matter of they are ECE, EV, or AV.
Mic drop on the trolls! Well done!
New York Times reports on its front page today in big bold letters…NO TRUMP-RUSSIA COLLUSION!!!!
Mic drop on the fake news media and left-wing GMA bloggers.
W I N N I N G ! ! !
You are wise beyond your age. Too bad others here had not acquired the same wisdom in twice the time you have.
One thing you left out is how GM has to keep prices up and dividends paid out of the hedge fund groups will swarm in and sell them off in pieces. It is due to this the big push on technology.
Companies like Ford are not under fire since the majority of stock is still controls by the Ford Family.
FCA has the same issues too since they were invested by the same funds post bail out.
The challanges of an automaker is multi facetted in many ways. The future also for all automakers is to cut expenses and increase profits as there are no more expanding markets outside growth into Electric. It will take time, investment and continued development to grow.
The hope is with EV is they can drive down cost and be even more competing with pricing, let’s face it regulations and added content to make gas engines viable for emissions has driven cost to where less and less can afford to buy a car.
With EV if they can drive down battery cost the rest of the vehicle is not that expensive once the drive line for gas is removed.
Anyways thanks for the post it is good to know there is intelligent life out there.
I couldn’t have said it better myself. If GM doesn’t invest in EV’s they are toast.
Not sure why it is so hard for everyone on here to realize just that. I will explain as simple as I can make it.
China and Europe are going Strictly to EV’s.
Both Governments are pumping cash to get this done as well as they should be doing.
Now, think for a minute what that will do to the Auto Industry as a whole. The number one car market which is still growing and the third largest market is going Pure EV’s.
Ok now lets see what we here are doing. Our Government (Both sides) are Paid off by Big Oil and surprise we are not following China and the EU but we are currently still arguing about more coal jobs.
So here is the scenario. It is very easy to follow.
You have two different companies. One ONLY spends money in EV research and Development and the other in both EV and ICE Research and Development. Knowing that The EU and China will be EV’s ONLY in the future, which company will have the leg up?
GM is doing the right thing. It is going to be a cosmic shift but they have no choice if they want to remain a Company. If they want to retain American jobs.
Why is this so hard to understand?
I get that some might not like what the future will bring but it is what it will be. GM has no choice in the matter.
On a side note, if our Government keeps going down the road they are on, China will become the leaders in the Auto Industry. They need to start helping our Big Three to compete in the future just like the EU and China are doing.
I too will miss the sound of engines but the future has kind of been written already. I am an American that will always want to see my beloved GM succeed and I want them to be the leaders in the EV future. It really is that simple.
I think the EV “revolution” is very myopic. Remember when GM tried diesels in the late 1970s and early 1980s saying that would be the engine of the future? How did that turn out. Or when the brilliant GM planners downsized their large cars to the detriment of sales in the mid 1980s thinking that gas would be $3 a gallon? Nobody can tell the future and to put all your eggs into one basket is plain stupid. Who knows, perhaps there will be a breakthrough and the ECE can get 70 MPG. Or perhaps there will a way to capture CO2s right from the tailpipe and have a true ZEV.
EVs do have a place in the market. However, as more and more EVs come on line, the price for electricity will skyrocket, and the price of oil will fall. Gas may be well under a $1 a gallon. When the cost of an EV is higher than the cost of an ECE, the market will demand ECEs. Don’s say we can simply tax the hell out of gas or ban ECEs. For the former, it would be political suicide for any politician to push that, and for the latter, the Oil industry in this nation has a lot of clout still.
Do they need more jobs? No. Is it acceptable to me that an American auto company who absolutely loves to claim American pride when it suits them is dumping more jobs here than adding but continuing to add more jobs in other countries? Absolutely not.
Them focusing on China affects the products we get here. Most of their product line is watered down with little spirit and innovation. The trucks could and should be better. Corporate cost cutting everywhere on the 19s, options and features the competition have we don’t get or have to go so high in trim level it’s unaffordable. The Camaro had all the hardware it needed but it’s design is…meh. I buy 95% GM but I’d rather have a Mustang. Corvette is great. Tahoe/Yukon /Escalade are great 90% of the rest of the lineup? Gross.
GM imports a LOT of vehicles from other countries. Not much from China yet, but I guarantee that will change if it means they can do it for cheaper. It’s happening regardless if you want to look past or ignore it.
Saying China is important for profits is like saying water is wet. That’s pretty obvious – but if they want to prioritize them over us for the sake of investors… Well that’s their choice. Just like it’s my choice to buy something else. I’m not the only person who feels this way and it will lead to fewer sales, meaning their position in the market will continue to slide. Relying on China will bite them in the rear and it’s a very “penny wise dollar foolish” strategy.
Don’t let the numbers from Toyota and GM fool you. In both cases the actual numbers of added jobs are relatively small (and far from enough to offset the steep cuts GM and other automakers have made in this country as of late, nor nearly enough to make a dent in the overall economy–which has long been showing signs of slowing, to say the least), and the bulk of the money is going to simply further the production of long planned projects at existing plants.
It would be like me announcing to the world that I’m investing $60 in my home over the next week, when all I’m planning to do is pay a guy to install new filters in my HVAC system. In GM’s case their large numbers sound great, but they’re playing with much deeper pockets and on a much larger playing field, to say the least.
Don’t let the f’ing props to NAFTA 2.0 and the suck up to a certain Twitter tyrant fool you either. GM does nothing quickly, on a whim, or based on something that likely won’t be enacted, if at all, until after or shortly before the next election cycle. (Let’s not forget 2.0 will likely INCREASE their costs, if it works out as a certain Drumpfster fire has promised). It’s all optics. And politics.
Good ole’ Machete Mary- never met a camera she did not like. It looks like the GM PRBS machine was working overtime this week.
NPWSBP is Sean Symkowski. Several of us called him out earlier. So sad a GMA bloggers has to write under a pseudonym.
And “Steve/ omegatalon/ Edward M Pate/ Z28…Notice “they” arrive always together on Miss Mary Barra and Trump articles on GMA? And always seem to know exactly when the story is getting posted? You do the math…
Tuesday is going to be wonderful…
Well I resent that. I guess as a GM employee I have more skin in the game and am quicker than most to respond. As to Trump, my dislike for him is boundless!
As for President Trump my love for him is boundless. Great guy who stands up to the haters and fake news. As a GM production line guy, I can say without a doubt that the vast majority of GM workers like our President for protecting our economy.
Actually it is USMCA, not NAFTA.
And remember when Sean Symkowski was blowing on here over and over how President Trump could never renegotiate NAFTA? Kind of like how he tried top scaremonger us that the U.S. economy collapsing if we took on China and it’s unfair trade practices. The complete opposite happened in both cases.
I’m a 74 year old investor in GM. I own 3 Cadillacs, and 2 Corvettes. I am not interested in CUV, or SUV ownership. They are not in my future. I am also not interested in an EV unless it can go at least 500+ miles a day, and the recharge is as easy to find as a gas station, and only takes 10 minutes. Otherwise it is useless to me.
I think GM, and other companies, are putting the cart before the horse. The infrastructure is not in place, or even under development, to support millions of EV’s on the highways, and it won’t be for at least 10 years or more. The money is simply not there. Look how Tesla is struggling right now,and they have fewer than 500,000 after 10 years. They have had to build their own nationwide system of recharge stations, at their on expense, using vital resources, and THEY are few and far between. Owners wait months for needed parts.
If Amtrak, the way it’s going, were to eliminate long distance train travel….New York-Chicago-Los Angeles, and the future looks grim, because the Republicans in Congress want to eliminate it by cutting funding, then that would leave only the automobile and airplane to get from coast to coast and look whats happened to the Boeing Max 8. I am too damn old to spent half my life in an airline terminal. Yet we are supposed to be living in the most advanced country in the world. I f you ask me, when it comes to transportation, China, Japan, and the European countries are the most advanced.
The EV has a long way to go. Oil prices will begin to rise again, that is inevitable, and large, gas guzzling SUV’s stop selling. Eventually, like anything else, SUV’s and CUV’s will loose their favor with the public. Life is in constant change, and nothing lasts forever.
Then where does that leave transportation in this country ? AV’s still need some type of FUEL……
Just a quick question and I am honestly not trying to be a smart you know what.
How many days in the year do you drive 500 Miles?
The car in your garage is completely fully charged every single morning. Not sure how often you or any of us will need to stop for a charge. I mean even if you take a road trip, will you drive more than 500 miles in a single day? And lets say that you can and will, won’t you stop to eat? So just plug in while you’re eating. Not sure why that won’t work for everyone. The whole EV issue that it will not work makes zero sense to me.
If you state that you will hate the technology, I would understand that more than saying it won’t work.
The EU and China are going Full EV so I think that it will work. GM knows what it is doing and needs to do the seismic shift it is about to undertake into Pure EV’s to stay in the Marketplace and still have American Jobs.
Okay….let’s take your questions, and your points one at a time….
I don’t drive 500 miles every day, but when I go on trips, the car has to be as big as my CT6, hold 3 to 4 people, and luggage, I don’t go on trips of a 1000 miles or more alone any more, ans that means we take turns driving, sometimes 500 miles or more a day, depending on where we want to stop to eat/stay. I usually stay in 5 star hotels when possible., but nothing less than 4 star.
There is less than a 50/50 chance there is a charging station where we start and I’m not driving all over, out of my way ,to spend 1/2-1 hour to charge the car with several people in the car…too inconvenient when there are gas stations everywhere.
I never said I hate the technology, simply that it is not in place yet for several million EV’s yet. Is GM building any charging stations….No! I think that is why the CT6 PHEV and Volt did not sell well and both have been discontinued. GM says there future is EV, yet they dumped two out of three of there PHEV’s this year, and only retained the Bolt. This clearly proves that they need to be working on the infrastructue, as well as the vehicles. I never said the EV thing would not work, only that if you start making the cars before the infrastructure is in place, where the hell are you going to charge. Can you use Tesla charging stations for any make? What happens when you find a charging stations and you are 4th in line. How many are there in Laramie, Wyoming. Grand Canyon Arizona, Altoona, Pa…..etc., etc., etc.
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Keep in mind that in China, everything is paid for by the state. The government is build the charging stations by the thousands. That’s not going to happen here. How many gas stations has the U.S. government. The Chinese government owns the auto industry in China. Let’s use Italy for example….how many EV’s in Italy? Are they building EV Fiats, Alpha Romeos, Ferraris, ? GM at 1st contemplated building ALL their EV’s in China and exporting them to the U.S. But the stockholdres and UAW strongly opposed this……
A Tesla Model S would suffice in the space department and Cargo capacity.
When you stop to eat you can charge your vehicle.
Did Car companies wait for Gas stations to open up first?
And yes China is spending a lot of money to build up the infrastructure. So again my point is, when China which is by far the biggest car market and keeps growing, what should the Global Auto makers do? Keep making ICE products?
The Tesla model S is way to stark on the inside. I don’t even consider it a luxury car. There is no visual appeal to the interior or exterior for me. No window shades, no Super Cruise as refined as the CT6, no Panaray sound system, no RWS, no DVD, the trunk is way to small. A friend of mine has one and I don’t like it. Feels cheaply made on the inside. Not nearly enough lighting in the vehicle…….Just not my cup of coffee…….
All of my favorite restaurants here in the No. Va. area….Chez Fancois, Clarity, Ruth’s Chris, Vermillion, and those inD.C. do not have a charging station.
How about investing some of that money to make better vehicles so that more people will buy them rather than electric vehicle that very few people will buy. Make better vehicles and make more money because more people will buy them or make electric vehicles and make no money because you are selling them at a loss to the very few people that will buy them. Oh my what a difficult choice to make.
Thank you very much. Instead of Machete Mary saying “GM believes in an all electric future” (even though the world may never get anywhere near there) why doesn’t she say “GM believes in giving customers the best vehicle for the money.” Instead of the 3 zs of zero emissions, crashes, and congestion, how about “Zero defects, zero complaints, and zero lost customers?”
If GM cannot execute an interior or powertrain properly as we see in the new Silverado/Sierra, how the hell will anyone give Barra and GM any credibility when it comes to EVs? It would be like an airline saying “we are going to fly to the moon” when they cannot even cross an ocean.
Actually, they have created some damn fine vehicles….I love my 2017 CTS-V. beautiful interior, and exterior, as well as tremendous bang for the buck. BMW, MB, and Audi can’t touch it for the money.
I also love my 2018 CT6 Platinum. I love the Super Cruise, works perfectly every time. I love the Panaray sound system, the AWS makes turning quicker, the reclining, massaging, heated and cooled rear seats are very comfortable for 6 foot adults on long trips along with the DVD. I use Onstar for hotel and dinner reservations, as well as turn by turn directions. I also am very with CUE and its many features. The CT6 is the best road car I have owned yet to date.
I also own a 2016 Escalade Platinum which comes in handy when my sister comes to visit with her 20 suitcases and her cat which Amtrak lets her keep in her bedroom compartment.
I also own two Corvettes, one a ZO6 and the other a ZR1. Can’t wait to get my 2022 C8.
I usually don’t have problems with my GM vehicles, but if I do the dealership always ( my Cadillac dealership also services my Corvettes, since they also own a Chevrolet dealership) takes care of it to my satisfaction…….
John GM does a great job on their performance vehicles. Just wish they woul apply the same type of bang for the buck in all of their other vehicles. But instead of giving you more for less they give you less for more. I own a 2011 Grand Sport and couldn’t be more happy with it and for the price it’s hard to beat. The same can’t be said for their lesser vehicles. There are just too many time where you can get a better equipped and performing vehicle elsewhere for a better price.
That is one of many points I bring up at stockholder meetings, when I visit the Renn Center, when I am in Warren at the Tech Center, and every time I get to meet and speak with management.
You’ve got to love that bedraggled clueless look on her face here and on the front page lol.
It looks like the stress is getting to her. Hopefully she will resign.
She looks awful and I commented about it once at a stockholders meeting. Honestly, how can any woman who earns $22,000,000 a year look that bad . She needs to get her hair done, a facial, or Botox, or a face lift, or something. Shop for some executive clothing, and for god’s sake , who the hell wears Black nail polish whe your a CEO. She needs a complete makover. She looks like she lives under a bridge……..
She also needs to give up all the leather jackets she seems to constantly wear!
She is ragged and ugly looking. Her failures at the helm of GM haven’t helped. And those cheesy leather jackets arent covering up her failures either.
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