[Kayfive]

As GM will be making huge cuts to their plants and workforce in the coming weeks, there is a chance that some of their models will have to move to different production facilities. Rumors are that the Blazer may not be produced in Ohio, which will be very expensive to retool. Let's hope this doesn't cause production delays or changes to MSRP. https://www.carscoops.com/2018/12/shifting-chevy-blazer-production-mexico-ohio-costly-says-gm-ceo/

 

[Rhett]

Mary Barra is very much in the hot seat right now, and shes already being pushed to scrap many of the job cut plans. But I think this huge change proves just what it takes to survive in the auto industry these days. Breaking tradition is exactly what helped companies like Telsa become a key player.

 

[Layne]

Doing things differently is fine, but we are talks about tens of thousands of job cuts here. This whole new trade agreement was supposed to help protect American carmarker jobs, but the opposite seems to be happening anyways.

 

[Kayfive]

Automakers aren't going to continue to support models that arent making any sales. If I was working in the industry I would have been planning for something like this ever since Ford made similar cuts to their lineup.

 

[Rhett]

Ford managed to make those cuts without laying off a huge chunk of their workforce, so no one at GM really knew it would come down to this. And it looks like their union reps are coming out of the gate swinging.

 

[trailblazer]

My biggest fear is what will happen over the long term because a solid trend happening right now is Mexico becoming the next China, the worlds manufacturing hub.

 

[Layne]

So long as their decisions to move to new productions facilities doesn't invoke an import tariff and cause inflated pricing for consumers. The auto industry has become much more automated and we were always going to see cuts to the workforce.

 

[trailblazer]

China is moving hard into South America which puts pressure on America which will only continue and possibly influence what Mexico does.
The buying and influential power they have is unlike most other nations. Am I concerned... you bet.

 

[Rhett]

So long as their decisions to move to new productions facilities doesn't invoke an import tariff and cause inflated pricing for consumers. The auto industry has become much more automated and we were always going to see cuts to the workforce.

Job cuts are one thing, but closing 5 different production plants is something else entirely. It would make more sense to have them retooled for future models or various electric components.

 

[trailblazer]

Its only going to get worse for America and quite possibly its northern neighbor. More reports are coming out on Mexico's production capability.
So far GM is a leader in production out of Mexico.

The increase in production also makes GM the largest exporter of automobiles in Mexico, with 693,782 units so far this year. Most of the exports go to the United States and Canada, but the automaker also benefits from Mexico’s trade agreements with South American countries.

Eventually I expect trump to speak about GM, he won't stay quiet for long.

 

[Kayfive]

Trump has already mentioned cutting GM's subsidies, though I don't know if he is able to do so. It's as if he doesn't see the correlation between the new tariffs and loss of American auto jobs.

 

[trailblazer]

Its part of negotiation which can get ugly at times, even hurting regular workers as we've seen.