General Motors Co. is cutting an unspecified number of salaried and executive staff positions as part of what it says is an effort to lower costs, improve performance, and beat the competition.
General Motors chief people officer Arden Hoffman made the announcement in a to employees shared with The Epoch Times by General Motors.
“To deliver on our commitments and to beat the competition, we need to have the winning team, bar none. We need a culture shift that enables us to hold ourselves accountable for achieving the higher levels of operating that are now required,” Hoffman said.
“This week we are taking action with a relatively small number of global executives and classified employees following our most recent performance calibration,” Hoffman wrote. “They will be departing the company starting from today.”
‘Small Number’ of Workers Impacted
GM representative David Barnas told The Epoch Times that the cuts affect a “small number” of positions, but stopped short of providing a specific number of employees who would be departing the automotive manufacturing company.“By focusing on our efficiency, we are preparing for a more competitive environment,” Barnas said. “Today’s action follows our most recent performance calibration and supports managing the attrition curve as part of our overall structural costs reduction effort.”
Win for Thacker Pass Lithium Mine
Last month, the vehicle maker reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter results despite a year of a slowing economy, rising interest rates, and chip shortages; with net income up 16 percent over the year-ago period, according to GM.GM also announced that it plans to invest $650 million in Lithium Americas to jointly develop the Thacker Pass lithium mine in northern Nevada, the largest known source of lithium in the United States.
The move comes amid GM’s push to establish itself in the electric vehicle market, although the carmaker noted that the investment depends on whether or not the Thacker Pass project is given the green light to go ahead amid mounting environmental and legal challenges.
The groups had cited concerns that the work would destroy key wildlife habitat, harm groundwater, and pollute the air, but Judge Du in her ruling said they had “failed to make a clear showing of entitlement to the extraordinary remedy of an injunction pending appeal.”