General Motors has big plans for the future, aiming to usher in an all-electric future with 30 new EV models by 2025 and zero tailpipe emissions by 2035. However, the aggressive timeline GM has laid out has resulted in concern among autoworkers, who now fear that the transition to an EV-only future may leave them jobless.
In a recent report, Associated Press discussed GM’s EV ambitions with autoworkers, uncovering anxiety over how the EV transition could affect them in the near- and longterm.
“It’s something that’s in the back of my mind,” said 38-year-old Stuart Hill, who works at the GM Toledo Transmission Plant in Ohio. “Are they going to shut it down?”
While there are no clear-cut answers as far as how the EV transition will affect autoworkers, there are assumptions that the move to an all-electric future will inevitably lead to job losses.
“There are just less parts [in an EV], so of course it stands to reason that there is going to be less labor,” said UAW research director, Jeff Dokho.
Thousands of jobs are estimated to be lost in the transition. As AP points out, a UAW paper published two years ago points to estimates made by Ford and Volkswagen that mass-EV adoption will reduce labor hours by roughly 30 percent per vehicle.
However, alongside the loss of existing autoworkers jobs, new jobs are expected to be created as well. Some of these include production of new EV parts and charging stations, as well as jobs related to the green economy, including wind and solar electricity.
According to Teddy DeWitt, assistant professor of management at University of Massachusetts Boston, who studies the evolution of jobs over time, we are now at the beginning of a transitionary phase similar to the decline of agricultural jobs and the rise of jobs in urban centers following the end of the U.S. Civil War.
“This is that moment to define where we go in the future,” said president of the local UAW chapter at the GM Toledo facility, Tony Totty.
Pressure to move on from internal combustion is mounting. California says that it will ban the sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035, the year GM plans to hit zero tailpipe emissions, while President Biden has announced plans to move the nation towards greater EV adoption with half a million new charging stations and conversion of the federal fleet to battery-driven vehicles. According to IHS Markit, global EV sales are expected to increase 70 percent this year.
Despite the anxiety among autoworkers, some are more hopeful. “We’re optimistic about making sure that there are jobs in the future, and that the jobs there now are protected,” said UAW research director, Jeff Dokho.
Nevertheless, for many of those autoworkers building internal-combustion vehicles today, the uncertainty remains.
Subscribe to GM Authority for ongoing GM-related electrification news and General Motors news coverage.
Comments
I have been saying this for a while now. This will reduce the number of parts and the need for people to maker are assemble these parts and install them on vehicles.
It also will cut the need for engineers and designers of many parts also. No emissions testing and no tuning of a large number of engine and transmission combinations.
Now some of these plants can be converted to battery production or components Needed. But there will be some cuts along the way.
Automakers are looking to reduce cost and the way to do that is with electronics. Once development is recovered it will get cheaper and cheaper.
Now also expect each automaker to get more competitive in price too. So the car buying public will in the end see reduced prices much as we do with many electronics today like a 65” tv for $499. Yes they will have more advanced cars for higher prices but now there will be the ability to compete in the cheaper lower price market too.
As for the lost jobs they have 20 years to consider this and take action. Jobs will not jus go next week.
Like in the old days black smiths became mechanics. These folks are on notice now and need to do what they need to do to move on if they are very young. The older folks will just retire by then.
With the changes will come new opportunities and for those to get ahead they just need to plan ahead and make your future fit the needs to come.
It will also reduce number of cars sold in general as if battery vehicles aren’t already expensive enough, only a small portion of our population will be able to get access to electricity, as the majority of our grid investment is put into the upkeep (yeah wind farms require rebuilding every decade) to 5% of our grid (yeah, they want to shut down most of he other 95%)
Data 2019 power magazine grid review
Time to get good at pedaling bicycles
That’s been their plan for us Plebs all along – bicycles! Chinese made bicycles – electric ones for the city slickers to keep them out of shape! But I wouldn’t put too much confidence in electric anything. If you lived here in California and had the pleasure of dealing with the “new normal” routine PG&E power outages the past two summers, you’d understand exactly what I mean. Stock tip: buy into consumer generator manufacturers, Tesla Solar Roof/Powerwall and Chinese bicycle monopolies.
Steve you are going to find after the initial higher cost that EV products will be cheaper and much more competitive.
With the lower labor cost, the less number of parts, the increased sharing of parts, the lack off all the development cost to meet regulations along with the decreased cost of development once they recouped development cost cars can and will be offered at or even lower cost than like ICE models.
The grid will be improved to meet demand as the electric companies will not let the ability to get more profits slide away. Over 20 years as the EV models come in they will meet demands. Gas fires plants are being planned as they know sun and wind is not going to do it. Even California is blinking here.
I get it you hate to lose Ice just as I am. But to continue to spread false info is not going to change a thing.
I think that by 2030 EVs will cost the same initially as ICE cars.
This will be a widespread transition across all 3 Automakers, but the big 3 will also have to come up with a measure to compensate for their loss when it comes to reduced manpower to labor at one of these plants, gm was just recently on the verge of getting ready to close yet another plant and a State Representative blocked that effort and demanded that the plant be filled with a ” Solid Job Opportunity for those citizens prior to closure another challenge that gm, Ford and Chrysler; I fear will not live up to!!
The plants that are affected will be phase out with contracts once they expire. Most will be component plants like Transmissions etc. many will retire by the time this happens.
The other affected will be suppliers like Eaton rear ends and others who supply exhaust etc. many will and already have geared up to supply parts for the EV cars.
Also it has been seen that the EV production may not be classed as auto assembly and new and different contracts will be done. I hav3 seen some comment this was electronics mfg and that it would be handled differently.
But again this is a deal that will unfold over 20 years so most workers who have a whit will be sure to put themselves in a place to ride this out or they will move on or like most they will retire.
If anyone gets caught out on this it is their own fault as GM has made it clear of their the plans and time line.
I think the death of the internal combustion engine is greatly exaggerated. There are other ways to get to zero emissions that are being worked on without “all electric.” It is just the typical myopia that has plagued management at the American automakers for decades. People will not buy things they do not want no matter how much they are shoved down our collective throats.
While the ICE will be with us new till 2050 and used even longer it will be less and less a factor and only in limited ways.
The end of the ice is not the end of the world as EV will not fully replace ICE till it can replace it fully and it will at some point. The cost will decline and most of the market will drive towards the cheaper EV cars as ICE will only get more expensive.
Didn’t we say the same thing with the introduction of robot manufacturing, that it would eliminate the human workforce and total automation would improve quality and lower cost of production (jury is still deliberating on that one) . . . . Change is the only constant in life, and we all need to make adjustments to make everyone’s life better. And we need some mixture of both forms to ensure we never exhaust our limited supply of fossil fuels.
You reap what you sow. Look in your GM employee parking lot at how many import cars are out there and you will find your answer. As they shutter GM facilities they are building more and more offshore facilities. The direct result of your vote for a president. Gasoline has already begun to skyrocket in just days after January 21st.
What about all the workers that are employed by parts suppliers, mechanics, auto parts stores, etc? It’s not just the UAW worker affected
They will sell more batteries and less other parts.
EV models will still need parts. The key is people trained to know enough about them to get the right parts.
Yeah sure, let’s stop progress of mankind otherwise a couple lazy union workers might lose their jobs. Actually we should never have transitioned from horse to automobile anyway; think about thousands of lost horse related jobs; blacksmiths, groomers.
Perhaps you should visit a plant where some of those “lazy” union workers work. You would see the vehicles and the parts for them are not built by themselves. BTW, “progress” is a loosely defined term. Progress is not people buying a vehicle that does not meet their needs.
Buggy whip production line?
It’s always good to look down the road with “just incase” but let’s not pretend the new idiot administration will stay in power for long to see a complete change (unless the last idiot run again and and we’ll have the same mess).
Jobs, schmobs – you have the environment to save and a bunch of hypocrite Democrat political hacks to schmooze bigly, eh Barra?
I’d be worried too if I worked in a transmission plant!
Boo flipping hoo … if GM doesn’t transform they’ll be out of a job entirely, and last time I checked none of the other makes in the US do unions… so keep it up.
The death of ICE is slightly over blown but with the imperial dunce QPJ in the WH and with the stroke of a pen eliminates the livelihoods of 10’s thousands of union jobs without giving a rats @$$ about them why should anyone care about these workers. Where is the Union that helped QPJ get into office screaming for these jobs? No, its all politics and Mary Barra has said they’re going to be an EV company soon! So these jobs will just go away… these citizens need to start NOW reinventing themselves, get a degree, become a CPA, sell insurance, because these jobs will die. For decades we’ve been paying for “jobs training programs” but I wonder how many have actually used or benefitted from them? America is not about the collective but the individual, these individuals need to look after their futures but the collectivista’s in DC only care about their agenda….
call the big guy he has a green new job all lined up for you