By Steven Symes 
General Motors shocked many as CEO Mary Barra warned shareholders in a letter today the automaker could lose up to $5 billion because of auto tariffs. In other words, the company could lose the same amount Ford lost on EVs last year. Interesting.
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In the letter, GM says despite efforts to provide relief to the auto industry, the Trump administration is still cutting into the company’s future profits. Barra claims she is engaging the White House in “strong dialogue” to reduce damage done by tariffs.
What’s really hurting General Motors, says Barra, is the fact that several of its popular models are manufactured outside of the US. This includes the Chevy Equinox and Trax, both unibody crossovers.
To protect its valuable truck sales revenue, GM has been dialing up production of trucks in its Fort Wayne Assembly factory located in Indiana. That would shift some Chevy Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 manufacturing from Mexico, eliminating tariffs on those pickups.
It seems GM has more troubles than just tariffs on its hands. It was recently leaked that the automaker has laid off assembly line workers at the Corvette plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Some of the more senior employees there took a buyout agreement, further reducing staff numbers.
Plus, the factory has several planned shutdowns this year. It’s theorized that in part this is GM forecasting weak demand for C8 Corvettes in 2025.
GM has also had to reshuffle its manufacturing strategy as consumers haven’t been as eager to buy EVs as the automaker previously projected. That includes switching production at the Toledo Propulsion Systems factory, moving from electric car drive units to transmissions for internal combustion models.
In other words, GM is dealing with a rapidly changing landscape, just like everyone else. That makes lining up shots at the target much more difficult, hence warnings for investors moving forward.
Image via GM
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