GM Announces Job Cuts as Chevrolet Camaro and Bolt Production Comes to a Halt”

GM laying off hundreds of workers as Chevrolet Camaro, Bolt production end

General Motors (GM) has announced that it is laying off hundreds of workers as it prepares to end the production of two of its iconic models: the Chevrolet Camaro and the Bolt electric vehicle.

The company said that the layoffs affect about 500 salaried employees across various functions, following its performance evaluation process. The cuts are part of GM’s goal of $2 billion in cost savings over the next two years, which it plans to achieve by reducing corporate expenses, overhead, and complexity in all its products¹.

The layoffs come at a time when GM is facing a challenging market environment, as it competes with other automakers in the global electric vehicle (EV) space. GM has committed to investing $35 billion in EVs by 2025, and aims to have 30% of its global sales be EVs by 2035². However, GM has also faced some setbacks in its EV strategy, such as delays in launching some of its EV models, quality issues with some of its EVs, and customer complaints about some of its EVs.

One of the most notable models that GM is phasing out is the Chevrolet Camaro, which has been a staple of American muscle car culture since 1966. The current sixth-generation Camaro was introduced in 2016, and received a facelift for 2020. However, GM has decided to retire the Camaro after 2024, citing declining sales and changing consumer preferences³. The final sixth-generation Camaros will come off the assembly line at the Lansing Grand River Assembly Plant in Michigan in January 2024⁴.

Another model that GM is ending production for is the Bolt electric vehicle, which was launched in 2017 as one of the first mass-market EVs from GM. The Bolt was praised for its long range, spacious interior, and affordable price. However, GM has also faced some challenges with the Bolt, such as low demand for its second-generation model (the Bolt EUV), which was launched in 2020. The Bolt EUV received mixed reviews from critics and customers alike, who criticized its design changes from the original model. As a result, GM has decided to stop producing both versions of the Bolt by 2023.

GM said that it will continue to support both models until their end-of-life dates, and will offer incentives and rebates to customers who want to trade-in or buy their existing vehicles before they are discontinued. GM also said that it will focus on developing new EV models that will meet customer needs and expectations better than ever before.

GM’s decision to lay off hundreds of workers as it ends production of two popular models reflects its ambition to transform itself into a leader in the EV industry. However, it also shows that GM still faces many challenges and uncertainties in achieving this goal.