WASHINGTON \u2014 President Trump said Tuesday that he is \u201cvery disappointed\u201d that General Motors is closing plants in the United States and warned that the\u2026<\/b>
\nWASHINGTON \u2014 President Trump said Tuesday that he is \u201cvery disappointed\u201d that General Motors is closing plants in the United States and warned that the White House was \u201cnow looking at cutting all GM subsidies,\u201d including for its electric cars program.
Trump unleashed on Twitter a day after GM announced it would shutter five plants and slash 14,000 jobs in North America, with many of the job cuts coming from the Midwest, where the president has promised a manufacturing rebirth.
Trump wrote that he is \u201cVery disappointed with General Motors and their CEO, Mary Barra, for closing plants in Ohio, Michigan and Maryland. Nothing being closed in Mexico & China.\u201d
And, referring to the 2008 federal bailout of the auto industry, Trump angrily continued that \u201cthe U. S. saved General Motors, and this is the THANKS we get!\u201d He said he is looking at cutting all GM subsidies, including for electric cars. \u201cGeneral Motors made a big China bet years ago when they built plants there (and in Mexico) \u2014 don\u2019t think that bet is going to pay off. I am here to protect America\u2019s Workers!\u201d
Trump\u2019s incendiary tweet came a short time after National Economic Council director Larry Kudlow said the White House\u2019s reaction was \u201ca tremendous amount of disappointment, maybe even spilling over into anger.\u201d Kudlow, who met with Barra on Monday, said that Trump feels betrayed by GM, which the government had been trying to help.
A White House rebuke to GM would fly in the face of long-held Republican opposition to picking marketplace winners.
Buyers of electric vehicles get federal tax credits of up to $7,500, helping to reduce the price as an incentive to get more of the zero-emissions vehicles on the road.
GM offers the battery-powered Chevrolet Bolt, which can go 238 miles on a single charge. The company has pinned much of its future business plan on people switching to battery-powered vehicles, promising 20 new ones globally by 2023.
GM said Monday that it will eliminate six gas-powered car models so it can spend more on electric and autonomous vehicle development.
The layoffs could amount to as much as 8 percent of GM\u2019s global workforce of 180,000 employees.
The restructuring reflects changing North American auto markets, which is shifting away from cars toward SUVs and trucks, which accounted for almost 65 percent of new vehicles sold in the U. S. in October.
The layoffs come amid the backdrop of a trade war between the U. S., China and Europe that is expected to lead to higher prices for imported vehicles and those exported from the U. S. Barra did not directly link the layoffs to tariffs.<\/p>\n