GM reportedly cuts jobs in China as sales decline

In the January-July period of this year, SAIC-GM sold 240,579 vehicles, down 55.14 percent from a year earlier.

General Motors is reportedly laying off employees in China, underscoring the pain foreign carmakers are facing in the country where the electrification transition is advancing rapidly.

GM is cutting jobs in China and will soon meet with local partner SAIC to plan a larger structural overhaul of its China operations, Bloomberg said in a report today.

GM is laying off employees in Chinese market-related departments, including research and development, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.

Over the next few weeks, GM and SAIC will discuss possible capacity cuts as part of a strategic realignment of its brands sold in China, according to the report.

The reassessment represents a major shift in GM’s strategy involving a shift to producing electric vehicles (EVs), focusing on more upscale models and importing premium cars, Bloomberg said, citing people familiar with the matter.

GM will continue to produce less expensive cars and EVs locally through the joint venture with SAIC and Wuling Motors, some of which will be exported from China, the report said.

GM’s China operations lost $104 million in the most recent quarter ended June 30, and losses in the first half of the year totaled $210 million, the report noted.

GM was one of the first foreign auto brands to enter the Chinese market, and its sales, which peaked at 4 million units in 2017, fell by nearly half to 2.1 million last year, according to the report.

The US auto giant unveiled in March 2020 the basis for its next-generation EVs — a technology called Ultium.

In April 2021, its joint venture in China, SAIC-GM, unveiled its strategic layout for future electrification and smart connectivity and introduced the Ultium platform.

On September 14, 2021, GM officially launched the Ultium EV platform to the Chinese market. Up to now, GM’s Cadillac and Buick brands have launched a number of EVs based on the Ultium platform.

Apart from SAIC-GM-Wuling’s cheaper EVs, GM’s other EV models have had mediocre sales performance in China, leading to a decline in its overall sales.

In the January-July period of this year, SAIC-GM sold 240,579 vehicles, down 55.14 percent year-on-year, according to data released by SAIC earlier this month.

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