General Motors has revealed plans to shut down operations at five manufacturing plants in North America after 2019 as part of its extensive cost-cutting initiative, including the Detroit-Hamtramck plant where the Buick LaCrosse sedan is currently produced.
Among the casualties are a longstanding Canadian plant and four U.S. facilities, consisting of two assembly and two powertrain plants. Globally, 14,000 jobs will be axed, including 3,000 in the U.S., as an insufficient number of employees accepted the buyout offers extended to 18,000 salaried North American staff members earlier this month.
Models nearing the end of their lifecycle, like the Cadillac XTS, are being discontinued, along with less popular vehicles such as the Buick LaCrosse, which has struggled to surpass 3,000 monthly sales in the U.S. since its relaunch in 2016. The LaCrosse is manufactured alongside the Cadillac CT6, Chevrolet Impala, and Chevrolet Volt at the Detroit-Hamtramck plant, all of which are also expected to be phased out.
GM’s aim is to reduce expenses in order to allocate resources to critical future technologies like electric powertrains and autonomous driving, areas where GM holds a competitive edge.
“GM has recently focused on advanced, highly efficient vehicle platforms, particularly in trucks, crossovers, and SUVs,” the company stated. “GM’s future investments will prioritize next-generation battery-electric platforms. With an optimized current vehicle lineup, more than 75 percent of GM’s global sales are expected to come from five vehicle platforms by the early 2020s.”