DETROIT — A General Motors executive warns that about 1,600 white-collar workers will lose their jobs in the next few days.
GM North America President Troy Clarke says in an e-mail to employees that the layoffs are needed to ensure the company’s long-term viability.
In these unprecedented times, he wrote, “GM is reinventing every aspect of our business ... to create a lean and agile company.”
GM began cutting 3,400 U.S. salaried jobs last month as part of the 47,000 job cuts that it will make worldwide by year’s end.
The planned cuts include about 4,000 jobs in Canada over the next year, including 2,600 in Oshawa, Ont. and 1,400 in Windsor, Ont.
Some of the positions will be cut through normal attrition, but most are expected to be through involuntary layoff.
GM is living on $13.4 billion in U.S. government loans. The automaker faces a June 1 deadline to cut costs and gain concessions from stakeholders in order to get more government help.