Business News Desk, Automaker General Motors (GM) is laying off hundreds of employees from the company as it follows other major companies including competitors in reducing workforce to save cash and boost profits. A CNBC report quoted sources as saying that the cuts, announced internally on Tuesday, affected about 500 positions across the company’s various functions.
The timing of the job cuts seems odd, as GM CEO Mary Barra and CFO Paul Jacobson told investors the company isn’t planning any layoffs. In a letter sent Tuesday, GM Chief People Officer Arden Hoffman reaffirmed the company’s target of $2 billion in cost savings over the next two years, adding that we will report corporate costs, overhead and reduce complexity. The goal can be achieved only by reducing it.
The company reiterated in an emailed statement that the cuts were a result of performance and that they help manage the attrition curve as part of our overall structural cost reduction effort. Meanwhile, US automaker Ford Motors has announced it will eliminate 3,800 jobs in Europe over the next three years, in a bid to restructure its business and create a more competitive cost structure. Ford plans to expand its European engineering footprint by 2025. Downsizing is planned, resulting in 2,800 fewer jobs.