Tag: General Motors

Auto Giants Scrambling to Slash Costs as Massive Bet on EVs, Self-Driving Fizzles

ADN America
Auto Factory

Major automobile companies are attempting to cut costs associated with electric vehicle (EV) lines and autonomous cars after spending heavily on both, according to CNBC.

Companies such as General Motors (GM), Stellantis and Ford are taking drastic measures aimed at reducing costs, such as enacting layoffs and making production cuts, according to CNBC. Automakers have invested billions of dollars into self-driving cars and EVs, with many now facing prolonged returns on their investments and slow EV adoption, CNBC reported.

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Major Automaker Abandons 2030 Electric Vehicle Target as Market Woes Continue

Daily Caller News Foundation
Volvo Electric SUV

Swedish automaker Volvo Cars said on Wednesday that it is scrapping its goal of going fully electric by 2030 as the electric vehicle (EV) market continues to struggle.

The company announced it now aims for between 90 percent and 100 percent of its cars to be fully electric or plug-in hybrids by the end of the decade, with the remainder being “mild,” non-plug-in hybrids, a company press release stated. Volvo’s backpedaling comes amid lower-than-expected consumer demand for EVs and a recent industry shift away from electrification.

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Bentley Pushes Back Ambitious All-Electric Goals

Minnesota Sun Staff
Driver getting into his Bently

British luxury carmaker Bentley Motors is pushing back its plans to have an all-electric vehicle (EV) offering by 2030, following other top vehicle manufacturers, according to CNBC.

Bentley had originally planned to transition all of its vehicle sales to EVs by 2030 but announced that it would be looking to delay that change by a couple of years, continuing to offer hybrids through that time, CEO Adrian Hallmark said in a media briefing following the company’s fourth quarter results, according to CNBC. General Motors, Ford, Mercedes-Benz and Honda have all backed off of previously made EV goals in the past year as low demand and high costs have stifled the commodity’s profitability compared to traditional vehicles.

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Study: Most Partial Automation Driving Systems Need Work

The Center Square
Nissan Car

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says automakers should incorporate new rating programs into their partial driving automation systems to reduce traffic deaths.

The new IIHS ratings aim to encourage safeguards that can help reduce intentional misuse and prolonged attention lapses.

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Top U.S. Automaker Reports $1.7 Billion Loss on Electric Vehicles in Fourth Quarter

Minnesota Sun Staff
Marry Barra

General Motors reported a $1.7 billion loss on Tuesday in its fourth quarter earnings call in the production and sale of its electric vehicle line, despite having positive net income growth in the quarter.

The automaker’s net income for the fourth quarter rose 5.2% year-over-year to $2.1 billion despite a reduction in revenue over that time frame of 0.3%, according to GM’s fourth quarter earnings report. The losses on EVs accompany a $1.1 billion total loss from a six-week-long strike by the United Auto Workers that partially halted operations, with the union gaining a new work contract that could raise labor costs in the coming year, according to the company’s investor earnings call.

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Major Automaker Says Union Deal Will Add Nearly a Thousand Dollars to Car Costs

Minnesota Sun Staff

Ford Motor Co. announced on Thursday that labor costs following a recent major union deal will cost the company around $900 per vehicle by 2028.

Ford, along with other major U.S. automakers General Motors and Stellantis, faced a six-week-long strike by the United Auto Workers (UAW) starting in September, with all three companies recently voting to approve new contracts through 2028. The company expects the new labor agreement to cost an extra $8.8 billion over the course of the contract due to wage increases of around 25%, accelerated wage progression and cost-of-living adjustments as stipulated in the contract, according to a press release from the company.

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UAW Ratifies Contract with General Motors

The Center Square

The United Auto Workers union members narrowly voted to ratify its contract with General Motors.

GM’s ratification tracker shows workers approving the contract on a 54.7% vote with nearly 36,000 votes in support, an unofficial number. The vote will end one-third of the auto strike that’s lasted about six weeks.

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Commentary: The Existential Crisis of the Big Three Automakers

Minnesota Sun Staff

The “Big Three” — Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis — have had a tough go of things lately. The recently concluded strikes by their employees were perhaps the most visible indication that all is not roses in U.S. Autoland, but there is a larger problem. That problem is summarized by the following headline from the Wall Street Journal: “Automakers Have Big Hopes for EVs; Buyers Aren’t Cooperating.”

The financial results of weak EV sales have been devastating for the Big Three. Ford reported a third-quarter operating loss of $1.3 billion in its EV division. Since it sold 20,962 EVs in the third quarter, the per-unit loss on each of those vehicles is an eye-popping $62,016. Ouch!

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‘Very Precarious’: Automakers May Have Missed the Mark with Union Deal, Experts Say

Minnesota Sun Staff

The United Auto Workers (UAW) concluded contract negotiations with the Big Three automakers over the last week, creating a deal that raises labor costs when the automakers are already struggling against competitors, according to experts who spoke to the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The Big Three automakers — Ford, General Motors and Stellantis — reached three separate tentative deals starting on Wednesday that ended a six-week-long partial strike at the companies from the UAW after workers’ contracts expired on Sept. 14. Due to the increased labor costs from higher wages and benefits, the Big Three are put at a disadvantage compared to non-unionized workforces both domestically and abroad at a time when the companies try to shift to the production of electric vehicles (EV), according to experts who spoke to the DCNF.

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UAW Expands Strike Against GM Hours After Reaching Deal with Rival Stellantis and Ford

Minnesota Sun Staff

The United Auto Workers (UAW) union on Saturday expanded its strike against General Motors (GM) after it reached an agreement with its competitors on Wednesday and Saturday, the union confirmed in an X post.

The UAW and Stellantis (formerly Chrysler) reached a deal similar to the four-year agreement reached on Wednesday between Ford and the UAW, which provides a 25 percent pay increase and cost of living adjustments, as well as the ability to strike over plant closures. It was expected that GM would also make a deal with the union after Stellantis on Saturday, but instead employees at a Tennessee GM factory received orders to expand the company’s strike, the local union posted on X.

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Report: Ford, United Auto Workers Reach Tentative Deal to End Strike

Just the News

The United Auto Workers union and Ford Motor Company have reached a tentative deal to end the ongoing strike, pending approval from union leaders. The ongoing strike has thus far lasted nearly six weeks. Exact terms of the agreement remain unclear, though the final deal could be announced as early as Wednesday evening, CNBC reported, citing sources familiar with the talks.

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More Americans Back UAW Strikers than Automakers: Poll

Minnesota Sun Staff

More Americans support the United Auto Workers (UAW) over the major auto companies as their strike for higher wages and more benefits nears its fifth week, according to the Associated Press.

The UAW is currently engaging in a partial strike against the Big Three automakers — Ford, General Motors and Stellantis — and have expanded to 44 different plants across the country since its Sept. 15 start, most recently resulting in workers at Ford’s biggest and most profitable plant walking out of the job on Wednesday. Around 36% of Americans sympathize with the striking UAW workers, while only 9% support the automakers in the dispute, with the rest of the 53% of Americans not swayed either way, according to a recent poll from the AP’s NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

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UAW Strike Costs Billions in Losses with No End in Sight

Minnesota Sun Staff

The United Auto Workers (UAW) strike has caused billions in economic damage and could further harm supply chains and local economies as the union and automakers fail to reach a deal.

The UAW has been undergoing a partial strike against the Big Three automakers — Ford, General Motors and Stellantis — which most recently expanded to a total of 43 locations after negotiations failed to reach a contract by the Sept. 14 deadline, already causing $3.95 billion in economic losses as of Tuesday, according to the Anderson Economic Group. The strike could be devastating to the Big Three’s market position, and stoppages could have greater effects downstream as supply chains are unable to move and local economies suffer, according to experts who spoke with the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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Automakers Lay Off More Workers as Strike Takes Its Toll

Minnesota Sun Staff

Major automakers have laid off even more employees as union workers continue to strike at several manufacturing plants amid contract negotiations, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Ford and General Motors laid off an additional 500 workers this week, bringing the total number of workers that have lost their jobs at the companies to a combined 6,000 following a strike from the United Auto Workers (UAW), according to the WSJ. UAW is currently striking against Ford, GM and Stellantis at 43 manufacturing plants using a targeted strike strategy, with many workers remaining on the job as contract negotiations continue.

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UAW Reaches ‘Tentative Agreement’ with Mack Trucks in Three States

The Center Square

The United Auto Worker’s Union has reached a “tentative agreement” on a new five-year agreement with the Volvo-Group-owned Mack Trucks in three states.  The union posted on social media that nearly 4,000 UAW members at Mack Trucks in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Florida (UAW Region 8 & Region 9) have a tentative agreement.

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Auto Union Threatens Even More Strikes If a Deal Isn’t Reached by End of Week

Minnesota Sun Staff

More auto workers are set to go on strike against top auto manufacturers if a deal is not met by Friday at noon, according to an announcement from the union Monday night.

The United Auto Workers (UAW) are currently engaging in a targeted strike at just three plants in negotiations with the Big Three automakers — Ford, General Motors and Stellantis — avoiding a total strike of all 146,000 unionized workers after the parties failed to reach a deal for new contracts on Sept. 14. Shawn Fain, president of the UAW, announced that more members at different plants would join the strike if the union and automakers did not make serious progress on new contracts by Friday at noon, according to a video posted by the union.

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Autoworkers Strike Imperils ‘Union Joe’ Biden’s 2024 Election Prospects

Minnesota Sun Staff

President Joe Biden may face headwinds in his 2024 reelection bid following his inability to prevent workers at the three biggest American auto manufacturers from striking, according to Politico.

The United Auto Workers (UAW) announced a strike Thursday night against the Big Three automakers — Ford, General Motors and Stellantis — saying that members would not be showing up to three plants on Friday, but stopping short of calling for all 146,000 unionized autoworkers to cease operations. Some have begun to place blame on the president for failing to help in negotiations, souring the president’s desired image of being “the most pro-union president you’ve ever seen,” according to Politico.

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United Auto Workers Plans Strikes at Detroit Big Three Vehicle Manufacturers

Just the News

The United Automobile Workers union is preparing to strike at Detroit’s Big Three vehicle manufacturers as contract negotiations remain strained ahead of the deadline just before midnight Thursday.

Union President Shawn Fain said Wednesday that General Motors, Ford and Stellantis, formerly known as Chrysler, increased initial wage offers while rejecting some other demands, The Associated Press reported.

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Potential UAW Strike Looms in Michigan

The Center Square

Up to 146,000 United Auto Workers could strike starting this week if the Big Three auto companies don’t reach a new union contract agreement by 11:59 p.m. on Thursday. 

UAW Union President Shawn Fain has repeated his mantra “record profits mean record contracts.” He says Big Three executives at Ford, General Motors and Stellantis have received hefty pay raises while inflation has eaten away at UAW workers’ paychecks.

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‘Sustainable’ Electric Cars Are Getting Junked Over Minor Damage

Admin

Insurers are being forced to write off many electric vehicles with only minor damage to battery packs, sending the batteries to scrap yards and hindering the climate benefits of going electric, Reuters reported.

Battery packs typically represent roughly half the cost of an electric vehicle, sometimes costing tens of thousands of dollars, often making it more economical for insurers to consider a car as totalled than replace a battery pack, according to Reuters. While many carmakers, including Ford and GM, told Reuters that their battery packs were repairable, many are unwilling to share key data with third-party insurers to help assess damage.

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General Motors Funds Transgender Programs in Elementary Schools

Admin

General Motors (GM) gave a grant to an organization that supplies elementary schools with books promoting the transgender ideology.

The automotive manufacturing company donated money to the Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network’s (GLSEN) “Rainbow Library Program,” according to a 2021 Social Impact Report published by GM.

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Commentary: President Biden Sides Against Union Rank-and-File

RealClearWire

While rank-and-file union members embraced President Trump, virtually every major union endorsed Joe Biden. A quietly issued Labor Department regulation helps explain this disconnect. President Biden has put union leaders first — even at the expense of union members.

Late last year, the Labor Department rescinded Trump Administration union transparency regulations. These regulations would have required union trust funds — like apprenticeship funds and strike funds — to disclose their receipts and expenditures.

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Toyota Smashes GM’s 90-Year Streak as Top U.S. Car Seller

Admin

Japanese automaker Toyota overtook General Motors in 2021 as the top car seller in the U.S., breaking the American manufacturer’s 90-year streak, Reuters reported.

Toyota sold 2.332 million vehicles, while GM sold 2.218 million, automakers said Tuesday, Reuters reported. GM’s dethroning marks the first time the Detroit company did not secure the most sales since it overtook Ford in 1931.

GM‘s sales were down 13% from the year before, in part due to the computer chip shortage that forced manufacturers to focus on their most popular models, Reuters reported. In contrast, Toyota was up 10% and is believed to have weathered the shortage better than others in the industry.

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Commentary: Unions Aligning with America First

RealClearWire

After intense negotiations, the United Auto Workers secured a new agreement with Ford, General Motors, and their suppliers that effectively prohibits a vaccine mandate for employees by requiring only “voluntary” disclosure of vaccination status for union members. This hard-won validation for workers points to a larger opportunity for the America First movement and organized labor to acknowledge that they are natural allies.

On critical issues ranging from medical privacy to border security and foreign trade, the emerging populist and nationalist consensus of the New Right creates an obvious home for unionized Americans. The America First cause can, in turn, help revitalize private-sector unions and guarantee a more prosperous society for our country, with a stronger middle class through a better diffusion of economic and political power.

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General Motors to Shut Down Production at Most North American Plants Due to Chip Shortage

Minnesota Sun Staff
General Motors Baltimore Operations Plant Tour with Sec. Hilda Solis by Jay Baker at Baltimore, MD.

General Motors will shut down production at the majority of its North American plants for up to two weeks due to a worldwide chip shortage, the Detroit Free Press reported.

A fraction of GM plants will remain open to continue making its most profitable vehicles with the chips GM has on hand, according to Detroit Free Press. The lack of chips is a worsening problem, with surging COVID-19 cases in Southeast Asia creating lasting issues for automakers.

“All the announcements we made today are related to the chips shortage, the only plant down that’s not related to that, is Orion Assembly,” GM spokesperson Dan Flores told Detroit Free Press, referring to the Chevy Bolt recall affecting the latter plant.

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Big Three Automakers Reinstate Mask Mandates for All Workers

Minnesota Sun Staff

America’s largest automobile manufacturers, along with United Auto Workers (UAW), will require all employees to wear masks again starting Wednesday.

The decision was made by a COVID-19 task force comprised of health officials from UAW, Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, which manufactures Dodge and Chrysler vehicles. All workers, both vaccinated and unvaccinated, have to wear masks at plants, office buildings, and warehouses, UAW announced in a statement Tuesday.

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Largest U.S. Automaker General Motors Plans to be Carbon Neutral by 2040

Minnesota Sun Staff

General Motors announced that it plans to eliminate emissions from new light-duty vehicles by 2035 and go completely carbon neutral by 2040.

General Motors (GM), the largest automaker in the U.S., announced plans Thursday to go completely carbon neutral globally and produce an all-electric lineup of vehicles by 2040, according to a press release. GM also joined fellow U.S. automaker Ford Motor Company and more than 380 other companies, signing onto the United Nations (UN) “Business Ambition for 1.5 C” climate petition.

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Michigan Workers Prepare for Another Factory Close Next Month As Dems Set Sights on Key Voters

Minnesota Sun Staff

by Audrey Conklin   Another auto plant in Warren, Michigan, that has been operating since 1958 is preparing to close in a little over a month, ending 261 jobs. The 261 hourly workers who will lose their jobs at the 2.1-million-square-foot General Motors factory build car transmissions. GM announced the…

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Trump Touts Economic Success in Visit to Last Manufacturer of M1 Abrams Tank in Ohio

Anthony Gockowski

President Donald Trump spoke Wednesday to a crowd gathered at Ohio’s Joint Systems Manufacturing Center, the last remaining manufacturer of the U.S. Army’s main battle tank. The facility, based in Lima, Ohio, nearly shut its doors five years ago, but was saved in January when the Trump administration reinvigorated the…

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GM’s Mass Layoff Includes Eliminating a Hybrid Car Obama Once Championed

Admin

by Chris White   General Motor’s decision to restructure and layoff thousands of employees Monday includes eliminating a hybrid vehicle former President Barack Obama once called the car of the future for the Detroit company. GM said Monday that it will cut roughly 14,000 people in North America and will idle factories…

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Think Tank: Tax Incentives Hurt Small Business Owners in Tennessee

Chris Butler
small business

Tennessee’s economy would thrive even without local and state governments dishing out tax incentives to already wealthy corporations. What’s more, these tax incentives penalize Tennessee’s small business owners. This from the spokesman for the Nashville-based free market think tank The Beacon Center of Tennessee. “Simply put, corporate handouts benefit rich…

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