Detailed Reuters article about GM restructuring and closing factories:
"GM has begun what is expected to be a long and expensive transition to a new business model that embraces electrified and automated vehicles, many of which will be shared rather than owned.
The No. 1 U.S. automaker signaled the latest belt-tightening in late October when it offered buyouts to 50,000 salaried employees in North America, with the aim of reducing headcount by 18,000. It plans to trim executive ranks by 25 percent, the source said.
With U.S. car sales lagging, several car plants have fallen to just one shift, including its Hamtramck and Lordstown, assembly plant.
A rule of thumb for the automotive industry is that if a plant is running below 80 percent of production capacity, it is losing money. GM has several plants running well below that. Consultancy LMC estimates that Lordstown will operate at just 31 percent of production capacity in 2018."
Ouch...
$GM is of course up 5% on the job cuts (which improve margins) - Wall Street missing the forest from the trees again.
I think this moment marks the beginning of the end of the ICE industry as we know it: the more visible part of the long slide down has begun.
Also, are any of these GM sites large enough for a new Gigafactory? Asking for a friend!