General Motors to slash 14,700 jobs in North America, five plants face shutdown
The General Motors assembly plant in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada November 26, 2018. (Reuters Photo)


In a massive restructuring, auto giant General Motors announced Monday it would cut 15 percent of its workforce to save $6 billion and adapt to "changing market conditions."

The company will lay off 14,700 factory and white-collar workers in North America and put five plants up for possible closure as it restructures to cut costs and focus more on autonomous and electric vehicles.

The reduction includes 8,100 white-collar workers, some of whom will take buyouts and others who will be laid off. Most of the affected factories build cars that won't be sold in the U.S. after next year. They could close or they could get different vehicles to build. They will be part of contract talks with the United Auto Workers union next year.

Plants without products include assembly plants in Detroit; Lordstown, Ohio; and Oshawa, Ontario. Also affected are transmission factories in Warren, Michigan, as well as Baltimore.

About 6,000 factory workers could lose jobs in the U.S. and Canada, although some could transfer to truck plants.