The Detroit automaker also cited rising commodities and interest rates as reasons to ask 17,700 employees to retire from the company.
General Motors executives painted a bleak outlook of the global economy in offering buyouts to 17,700 employees last month.
“We must take significant action and now while our company and the economy are strong,” they said in talking points given to managers in October to discuss the severance plan with staff. CNBC obtained the “leader talking points,” and GM verified their authenticity.
An “intensely competitive” industry combined with pressure from rising commodities prices, interest rates and a difficult trade environment created a sense of urgency. “We need… to make the right pre-emptive moves so that we come out of this tough time ahead,” they said in the talking points.
The Detroit automaker on Monday announced plans to halt production at five factories in North America and cut about 14,000 jobs in the company’s most significant restructuring since its bankruptcy in 2009. The news falls on the heels of an otherwise strong quarter. Its third-quarter earnings released Oct. 31 — the same day GM started soliciting the buyouts — showed its first year-over-year earnings growth since the first quarter of 2017 and sent the stock soaring 9 percent.
But executives saw stiff competition and a tough economy ahead.
