President Donald Trump does not like the news that General Motors would close several plants and cut more than 10,000 jobs. Speaking to reporters on the White House lawn on Monday afternoon, Trump said he spoke with CEO Mary Barra and told her he wasn't happy with the decision.
"I told her I'm not happy about it," Trump told reporters.
"The United States saved General Motors and for her to take that company out of Ohio is not good," he continued. "I think she's going to put something back in soon."
On Monday, GM announced it would close four US-based plants, including two in metro Detroit; the Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant and the Warren Transmission Operations plant.
According to a spokesperson for GM, the plants will be unallocated which means they will no longer produce vehicles in those plants in 2019. According to the company, the future of the plants will be part of contract talks with the UAW next year.
“The actions we are taking today continue our transformation to be highly agile, resilient and profitable, while giving us the flexibility to invest in the future,” Barra said in a release. “We recognize the need to stay in front of changing market conditions and customer preferences to position our company for long-term success.”
According to the release, GM will lay off 14,700 factory and white-collar workers. Of those, 8,100 will be white-collar workers that will either take buyouts or be laid off.
The company said that the moves will help continue its focus on crossovers, SUVs and trucks. With the move, GM plans to cut 25 percent of the executive staff and 15 percent of the salaried and salaried contract staff.
The transition also includes ceasing production of six vehicles; the Chevrolet Cruze, Volt and Impala, the Buick LaCrosse, Cadillac XTS sedan and Cadillac CT6 sedan. According to the company, the Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant produces the Volt, Impala, LaCrosse and CT6.
Trump said Barra told him the Cruze isn't selling well.
"Hopefully she’s going to come back and put something, but I told her I’m not happy about it," he added.
Barra also was meeting with White House Economic Adviser Larry Kudlow on Monday, a White House official confirms. The meeting has apparently been on the books for weeks and it's just a coincidence that the meeting and the announcement happened on the same day.
