AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT SLPT GLOBAL PUMP GROUP / SLW AUTOMOTIVE

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. We see good people being laid off through no fault of their own. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?

Sallisaw, Oklahoma-based SLPT Global Pump Group has announced that SLW Automotive, a manufacturer of automotive pump components and assemblies, will undergo a reduction in its workforce since the parent was acquired by China's Shenglong Automotive Powertrain System Co. Ltd., a leading company in the combustion engine and electric vehicle market.

The reduction in force will impact 192 employees, including 85 temporary workers.

According to a WARN notice filed with the Oklahoma Office of Workforce Development by Jeff Addison, SLPT's vice president and general manager for North America and Europe operations, “Due to a sale of a portion of SLW’s business in Sallisaw and the resulting corporate-wide reorganization, SLW will experience a reduction in its workforce and a number of employees of SLW will experience layoffs. This mass layoff is expected to be permanent,” he explained, adding that the overall number of affected workers would be 106 full-time employees and 85 temporary workers.

Addison admits the transition, no matter how seamless, comes with a certain amount of angst. 'It’s a change, and I don’t care who you are, including me, change is not easy,' he says. 'Our employees, we have to give them a lot of support and help them through this. We’re certainly having a lot of discussions with them, both formal and informal. We need to do all we can to help them.'"

"The sale of the Sallisaw property and building is a strategic action by SLW Automotive to focus the geographic footprint of the North America operations and grow the electric vehicle business. SLW Automotive recently acquired a design, development and manufacturing location in Warren, Mich., to be closer to strategic customers, says Leo Yulong, chairman of Shenglong Automotive Powertrain System Co."

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. We see good people being laid off through no fault of their own. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?

AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT MAHLE

Stuttgart, Germany-based Mahle, an automotive parts manufacturer, has announced that it will close its MAHLE Behr powertrain and air-conditioning components manufacturing facility in North Charleston, South Carolina by the end of 2024.

The closure will impact 466 employees.

It is believed that the decision was driven by the worldwide downturn in automotive manufacturing and the rise of electric vehicles in addition to increases in utilities, materials and labor costs.

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. We see good people being laid off through no fault of their own. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?

AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT CRUISE (02/18/25)

FEBRUARY 18, 2025 — 739 EMPLOYEES

The company that suspended operations in December 2024 is laying off nearly half its staff after General Motors completed a full takeover of the company. 739+ employees will be impacted.

According to Dave Richardson, GM senior vice president of software and services engineering, “By combining the specialized technology and talent at Cruise with our team developing Super Cruise, we’ll have the ability to accelerate our work on both assisted-driving and autonomous driving.”

DECEMBER 28, 2023 — Original post…

San Francisco, California-based Cruise, a self-driving car company that tests and develops autonomous car technology as an autonomous subsidiary of General Motors, has announced a reorganization with a 24% reduction in its workforce.

The reduction will impact 900 employees.

According to the newly elected president and CTO Mo Elshenawy...

Cruisers:

We knew this day was coming, but that does not make it any less difficult—especially for those whose jobs are affected.

Today, we are making staff reductions that will affect 24% of full-time Cruisers, through no fault of their own. We are simplifying and focusing our efforts to return with an exceptional service in one city to start with and focusing on the Bolt platform for this first step before we scale. As a result, we are reducing our employee counts in operations and other areas. These impacts are largely outside of engineering, although some Tech positions are impacted also. As you might have learned, yesterday, we took action to part ways with several SLT members.

Craig and I believe this is a necessary step, and our leadership team and the board are fully aligned with how our go-forward U.S. staffing needs will map to the priorities ahead of us, and set up Cruise for the long term. We have also ended additional assignments of contingent workers who support our driverless operations, as we refined our go forward plans.

In a few moments, you will receive an email letting you know whether or not you are affected by this staffing reduction. If you are impacted, you will get details about what happens next in a subsequent email.

Please know that our first priority is to treat departing Cruisers with fairness, and I will describe more about how we are doing that below.

I also want to explain why we are making these reductions, and what this means for Cruise moving forward.

Cruise today vs Cruise moving forward

As we’ve shared, our goal is to focus our work on a fully driverless L4 service that meets a new AV performance bar, prioritize the Bolt platform, relaunch ridehail in one city to start, and enhance our safety standards and processes before we scale. We are ceasing work on the Origin MY24 but not losing sight of our work on future programs. This is very different from our prior plans to expand into more than a dozen new cities in 2024.

As a result of our decision to slow down commercialization, we are restructuring to focus on delivering the improvements to our tech and vehicle performance that will build trust in our AVs.

Many of you will be impacted because we aren’t commercializing as quickly, and therefore don’t need support in certain cities or facilities. In other cases, we restructured teams based on the work we’re prioritizing. We didn’t take any of these decisions lightly, though I know that isn’t much of a consolation if you’re someone affected by the actions we are taking today.

Our message to other employers in the market is that each departing Cruiser is a talented, driven, and mission-focused team member who will contribute and achieve great things elsewhere. They are departing us through no fault of their own. Other companies will be privileged to have these professionals on their teams, as we were privileged to have them here during their time at Cruise.

This is one of the hardest days we’ve had so far because so many talented people are leaving. I’m thankful we had the chance to work together, and I know I speak on behalf of so many Cruisers who will be reaching out to those departing to help with our professional networks and references. On behalf of the SLT, the Cruise Board and GM, I’m truly grateful to everyone who has played a role in building Cruise and who has poured so much into the promise of making our roads safer and our world better.

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. We see good people being laid off through no fault of their own. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?