General Motors Reportedly Cuts Jobs in China Amid Restructuring Effort

General Motors (GM) cut jobs in China as the Detroit automaker evaluates its operations in the region amid rising competition from Chinese automakers, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.

The company has also discussed potential reductions in manufacturing capacity with SAIC, its state-owned partner in the country, as it shifts to electric vehicles and “more upscale models,” according to Bloomberg.

GM Working To Restructure China Business

The moves come after CEO Mary Barra said in last month’s earnings call that GM was “working closely with our [joint venture] partner to restructure the business to make it profitable and sustainable.”

A GM spokesperson also cited comments from CFO Paul Jacobson, who said last week that if GM wants to remain competitive, it must “take a look at the business with our partner to ensure that we can restore it to profitability and that we can restore it to self-sustaining cash flow going forward.”

Jacobson said that China “remains a good asset” in GM’s business, despite the surprise loss the company reported in the region last month, as GM had expected its China operations to return to profitability in the quarter.

Barra said last month that the number of domestic companies in China that are currently focused more on gaining market share than selling cars at a profitable price point is “unsustainable.”

GM shares were little changed in early trading Tuesday, and have gained close to 19% so far this year.