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☆ GM ditching 'Ultium' name for batteries and tech amid EV changes
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-09 | by ( Michael Wayland | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Aside from EVs, GM touted its lowering capital costs and the company’s flexibility to produce both traditional vehicles with internal combustion engines and EVs. Shares of GM were roughly level aside from a roughly 3% increase during the beginning of the event. The change to Ultium comes after GM spent billions of dollars to develop in-house “Ultium” batteries and technologies that the automaker previously touted as “revolutionary” and the ultimate technologies to be able to build a profitable EV business. The company said the batteries and the technologies will remain, but the name “Ultium” will not, other than production operations such as its “Ultium Cells” joint venture plants with LG Energy Solution. GM has been rethinking its EV battery strategy amid changing market conditions and an influx of new, outside executives, including Tesla veterans JP Clausen, who now leads GM manufacturing, and Kurt Kelty, GM’s vice president of battery.

Persons: GM, EVs, Ultium, ”, JP Clausen, Kurt Kelty, Mary Barra, ” Kelty, Rory Harvey, “, Orion Organizations: DETROIT, Detroit automaker, GM, LG Energy, Tesla, LG, South Korea’s Samsung SDI, CNBC, Orion Locations: North America, Orion Township , Michigan, U.S, Detroit

☆ Exclusive: GM snatches key Tesla gigacasting supplier
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Norihiko Shirouzu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Tesla and TEI President Oliver Johnson did not respond to requests for comment. The specialists use sand casting in a process called rapid prototyping to help validate Tesla's designs and engineering specifications for its giant molds quickly and cheaply. According to all four sources, TEI began helping Tesla around 2017 to develop the Model Y and is considered in the industry to be one of the world's top sand casting specialists. "TEI will remain its own business entity with GM as its parent company," GM said. Reuters was unable to determine whether Tesla was one of the several companies that bid for TEI.

Persons: Joe Biden, Jonathan Ernst, Tesla, TEI, Oliver Johnson, Ford F.N, Elon Musk, TEI's Johnson, James Womack, Womack, David Clarke Organizations: Motors, REUTERS, Equipment, General Motors, GM, Ford, Hyundai, Toyota, Chief, Tesla's, Celestiq, American Foundry Society, GM's Global Manufacturing, Reuters, SEAT, Tesla, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Thomson Locations: Detroit , Michigan, U.S, , Texas, Britain, Germany, Japan, TEI, Livonia, Detroit

[1/2] United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain greets workers at the Stellantis Sterling Heights Assembly Plant, to mark the beginning of contract negotiations in Sterling Heights, Michigan, U.S. July 12, 2023. The UAW released more details of its tentative 4-1/2 year deal with GM <on Saturday. Temporary workers will have a faster path to full-time status and could see wages rise by about 50% immediately. The GM agreement will move more than 7,000 UAW workers in GM component plants, service parts warehouses and what GM calls "subsystems" operations up to the higher wage levels paid to assembly plant workers. "This contract has wage increases and economic gains like nothing we've ever seen before," UAW Vice President Mike Booth said.

Persons: Shawn Fain, Rebecca Cook, Mike Booth, Fain, Joe White, Ben Klayman, Matthew Lewis Organizations: United Auto Workers, Sterling Heights Assembly, REUTERS, Rights DETROIT, General Motors, UAW, GM, Detroit, Ford, Chrysler, Auto, Toyota, Honda, Volkswagen, Hyundai, Tesla, Thomson Locations: Sterling Heights, Sterling Heights , Michigan, U.S, Lordstown , Ohio, Orion, Michigan, Spring Hill , Tennessee, Detroit, Bengaluru

Ford envisions at least three new electric vehicles that will preserve jobs at several factories. Those and other closely held production plans by Detroit's automakers have emerged in details of the tentative contract agreements that ended the six-week strikes by the United Auto Workers union. The UAW's success in gaining commitments from the companies to build new electric vehicles at several factories represented a particular achievement. The automakers have all embraced the transition to electric vehicles as a large-scale and long-term commitment. And not all the companies’ production plans under the contract, of course, involve electric vehicles.

Persons: —, Biden, What's, Ford, Stellantis, ___ Veiga Organizations: DETROIT, Ford, General Motors, Detroit's automakers, United Auto Workers, Workers, EVs, EV, Dodge, Jeep, Cherokee, UAW, Kentucky, Plant, Expedition, Lincoln Navigator, Lincoln, Ohio Assembly Plant, Hill Assembly, Honda, Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra, Fairfax Assembly Plant, GM, Detroit automakers, Toyota Tacoma Locations: Belvidere , Illinois, Toledo, Warren , Michigan, Sterling Heights , Michigan, Detroit, Dodge Durango, Rouge, Dearborn , Michigan, Louisville, Cleveland, Rock , Michigan, Hill, Hill Assembly Plant, Tennessee, Orion Township , Michigan, Fairfax, Kansas City , Kansas, Lansing , Michigan, Los Angeles

☆ GM postpones electric truck production
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Peter Valdes-Dapena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —General Motors is putting off adding a second factory for production of its electric pickups until late 2025, the automaker announced Tuesday. But GM had planned to start producing the electric pickups at an additional Michigan factory, Orion Assembly just north of Detroit, as well. Instead, when those electric vehicles go out of production at the end of this year, the factory will not shift quickly to making the trucks. General MotorsGM’s decision will result in fewer electric pickups being built next year but the automaker declined to discuss the extent of a reduction. GM had announced, in 2022, that it would spend $4 billion to convert Orion Assembly to make the electric trucks.

Persons: Bolt, Ford, Joseph Yoon, GM Organizations: CNN —, Motors, Silverado, Hamtramck Assembly, GMC Hummer, GMC Sierra EV, GM, Orion Assembly, Chevrolet Bolt, United Auto Workers, Orion, Chevrolet Silverado EV, General Motors, UAW, Ford, ”, Edmunds.com Locations: Detroit, Michigan

DETROIT (AP) — General Motors will delay electric pickup truck production at a factory near Detroit due to slowing U.S. demand for electric vehicles, to better manage its capital investments, and to make some engineering changes. Political Cartoons View All 1211 ImagesGM already is building a Chevrolet Silverado work truck at its “Factory Zero” electric vehicle plant, which straddles the border between Detroit and the enclave of Hamtramck. August EV sales were up almost 60% from a year earlier, but in September, the year-over-year growth rate dropped to 56%, according to Motorintelligence.com. But that transition is a lot more difficult and takes more time.”Still, Fiorani predicted that EV sales growth won't recede much, but the rate of increase won't be as high as it was previously. ____This story has been corrected to show that the electric vehicle sales growth rate in September was 56%, not 51%.

Persons: Kevin Kelly, ”, Kelly, it's, Kelley, Tesla, Chevrolet Bolt, Sam Fiorani, Fiorani Organizations: DETROIT, —, Motors, Silverado, GMC Sierra, United Auto Workers, Orion, Chevrolet, Workers, GMC, EV, GM, Factory Zero, AutoForecast Solutions Locations: Detroit, Orion Township , Michigan, Michigan, Hamtramck, U.S, . U.S, That's

☆ GM to delay all-electric truck production at Michigan plant until late-2025
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Michael Wayland | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

UAW Local 5960 member Kimberly Fuhr inspects a Chevrolet Bolt EV during vehicle production on May 6, 2021, at the General Motors Orion Assembly Plant in Orion Township, Michigan. A GM spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the company's EV production target. Alongside the Silverado EV, Factory Zero is currently building the GMC Hummer EV pickup and SUV and Cruise Origin shuttle. The plant was expected to be its second U.S. assembly plant to exclusively produce EVs. Roughly 1,000 hourly workers at Orion Assembly will have the option to transfer to other Michigan facilities until the retooling at Orion Assembly is completed.

Persons: Kimberly Fuhr, Motors, GM's Organizations: UAW Local, Bolt, General Motors Orion Assembly, DETROIT –, GM, Orion Assembly, Motors, Orion, United Auto Workers, UAW, Chevrolet Silverado, GMC, Silverado, Silverado EV, CNBC Locations: Orion Township , Michigan, DETROIT, Michigan, Detroit, North, Sierra

Biden is running for re-election in 2024 and will likely face Trump, who is the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination. "The only reason Biden is going to Michigan on Tuesday is because President Trump announced he is going on Wednesday," the Trump campaign said in a statement late on Friday. Trump has called for rank-and-file union workers to ignore their leaders. United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain blasted Trump earlier in the week, saying the union was "fighting the billionaire class and an economy that enriches people like Donald Trump at the expense of workers." Workers on the picket lines had mixed feelings over whether Biden should visit.

Persons: Joe Biden, Jonathan Ernst, Biden, Donald Trump, I’ll, Trump, Jeremi Suri, Jimmy Carter, Biden's, CLASS, Shawn Fain, Theodore Roosevelt, Suri, Roosevelt, Henry Cabot, “, Laura Zielinski, ” Thomas Morris, Morris, Heather Timmons, Jeff Mason, Ben Klayman, David Gaffen, Kanishka Singh, Jarrett Renshaw, Matthew Lewis, Nick Zieminski, Alistair Bell, Timothy Gardner Organizations: Motors, REUTERS, WASHINGTON, United Auto Workers, Detroit, UAW, Republican, Friday, General Motors, Chrysler, Ford Motor, University of Texas, Washington, CLASS Trump, White House, Department of Labor, Workers, Thomson Locations: Detroit , Michigan, U.S, TOLEDO , Ohio, Michigan, United States, Austin, Detroit, Toledo , Ohio, Toledo, Philadelphia, Washington, New York

☆ Biden visit to UAW strike would be historic move by US president
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The UAW on Friday invited Biden to visit workers on its picket lines, and said that it would expand its Detroit strike to parts distribution centers across the United States at General Motors (GM.N) and Chrysler parent Stellantis (STLAM.MI). "It’s very rare for a president to visit strikers," said Jeremi Suri, a historian and presidential scholar at the University of Texas at Austin. The White House said the president appreciates the UAW invitation, saying Biden will continue to fight for workers, but but did not immediately commit to visiting the strikers. Biden said the automakers should "go further to ensure record corporate profits mean record contracts for the UAW," echoing sentiments by union leaders. Workers on the picket lines had mixed feelings over whether Biden should visit.

Persons: Joe Biden, Jonathan Ernst, Biden, Jeremi Suri, Jimmy Carter, Biden's, Donald Trump, Trump, Shawn Fain, Theodore Roosevelt, Suri, Roosevelt, Henry Cabot Lodge, “, Laura Zielinski, Heather Timmons, Ben Klayman, David Gaffen, Matthew Lewis, Nick Zieminski Organizations: Motors, REUTERS, WASHINGTON, United Auto Workers, UAW, Friday, Detroit, General Motors, Chrysler, Ford Motor, University of Texas, Washington, Trump, White House, Massachusetts, Department of Labor, Workers, Thomson Locations: Detroit , Michigan, U.S, TOLEDO , Ohio, United States, Austin, Detroit, Toledo , Ohio, Toledo, Washington, New York

☆ Leaked UAW messages detail 'chaos' strategy
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( Vanessa Yurkevich | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

New York CNN —The United Auto Workers Union is prepared to strike automakers for “months,” according to leaked messages obtained by CNN. One advantage for the union of a targeted strike is the potential to save resources and extend a possible strike. The union members who are on strike are eligible for $500 a week in strike benefits from the union’s strike fund. With targeted strikes, it’s possible that the companies will shut down operations and lay off members who are not technically on strike. John Hatline, who has worked at General Motors for 49 years and has seen his fair share of strikes, told CNN before the strikes began that he thought targeted strikes can work.

Persons: Jonah Furman, Furman, they’re, Shawn Fain, Fain, ”, “, John Hatline, Hatline, ” “, Mark Truby Organizations: New, New York CNN, United Auto Workers Union, CNN, Communications, Big, UAW, Detroit Free Press, UAW Communications, General Motors, ”, Motors, Ford, Genal Motors Locations: New York, Detroit

A targeted strike could shut operations for each company, depending on which plants and facilities are struck. One advantage for the union of a targeted strike is the potential to save resources and extend a possible strike. The union members who are on strike are eligible for $500 a week in strike benefits from the union’s strike fund. With targeted strikes, it’s possible that the companies will shut down operations and lay off members who are not technically on strike. GM’s statement did not address what it planned to do if their operations are disrupted by a targeted strike.

Persons: Shawn Fain, Fain, Jeff Schuster, ”, “, ” Fain, Patrick Anderson, John Hatline, Hatline Organizations: Detroit CNN — United Auto Workers, General Motors, Ford, GlobalData, Jeep, Dodge, Chrysler, UAW, Anderson Economic, CNN Locations: America, Michigan, Detroit

☆ Electric Cadillac Escalade has 750 horsepower and can crab walk
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Peter Valdes-Dapena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —The new all-electric Cadillac Escalade IQ shares virtually nothing with the boxy gas-powered Escalade, but it’s possibly the most important flag-bearer yet for the automaker’s transition to electric vehicles. So the new Escalade IQ has flashy light displays and electric motors able to produce a total of 750 horsepower. CadillacWhen it goes on sale next year, the Escalade IQ will be one of Cadillac’s most expensive models. Prices for the gas-powered Cadillac Escalade start at about $81,000, with the average one sold last year going for about $109,000 according to Edmunds.com. GM claims that the Cadillac Escalade IQ is the most aerodynamic large SUV the company has ever produced.

Persons: John Roth GM’s, Cadillac, ”, it’s, Mandi Damman Organizations: CNN, General Motors, GM, EV, Silverado EV, GMC, Hummer, Chevrolet Silverado, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Cadillac, GM’s Locations: Detroit, Hamtramck , Michigan

☆ 2025 Escalade IQ joins Cadillac’s growing all-electric family
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Paul Lienert | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Escalade IQ borrows styling cues from the Celestiq, as well as its 55-inch panoramic display screen. Escalade IQ will overlap with and eventually replace the combustion-engine Escalade. The dimensions of the electric Escalade are close to those of the long-wheelbase Escalade ESV. The Escalade IQ is about three inches shorter, while the wheelbase is two inches longer. Cadillac has not provided a weight estimate for the Escalade IQ, but the current Escalade ESV weighs nearly three tons.

Persons: General Motors, We’ll, ” Cadillac, John Roth, Optiq, Roth, Today's Escalade, Paul Lienert, Bernadette Baum Organizations: General, Cadillac, GM, GMC, Thomson Locations: Detroit

☆ GM vows to boost jobs next year despite EV shift
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

GM, Ford Motor (F.N) and Chrysler-parent Stellantis last month opened contract talks with the United Auto Workers (UAW) union ahead of the Sept. 14 expiration of the current four-year labor deals. GM manufacturing chief, Gerald Johnson, said on Friday he did not agree it would need fewer workers for EV production. Separately, CFRA Research on Friday downgraded GM on concerns about a possible strike after the UAW sought large pay and benefit hikes. The UAW wants new limits on temporary workers and for them to receive profit sharing. Sources said the union wants the companies to agree to the equivalent of a paid day-off per week, at a time of growing trials globally of a four-day working week.

Persons: Joe Biden, Jonathan Ernst, autoworkers, Gerald Johnson, Johnson, Ford, Stellantis, Shawn Fain, David Shepardson, Marguerita Choy Organizations: Hummer, Motors, REUTERS, General Motors, GM, Ford Motor, Chrysler, United Auto Workers, UAW, EV, Research, Company, U.S, Thomson Locations: Detroit , Michigan, U.S

☆ EV battery plants emerge as wild card issue in UAW contract talks
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Michael Wayland | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Multibillion-dollar EV battery plants — and their thousands of expected workers — are crucial to the automotive industry's future and uniquely positioned to have wide-ranging implications for the UAW, automakers and President Joe Biden's push toward domestic manufacturing. But UAW leadership has made it a priority to ensure a "just transition" to EVs for auto workers, including the battery plants. Michael Wayland / CNBCEither side could use the battery plants as indirect leverage in the negotiations, according to current and past negotiators from both sides of the table. At GM's Ultium battery plant in Ohio, workers make between $16 and $22 an hour with full benefits, incentives and tuition assistance. Setting a standardThe UAW last week released a white paper detailing some reported safety issues and concerns at the Ultium plant.

Persons: Motors, Steve Fecht, Joe Biden's, they're, Shawn Fain, Jerome Buckley, Michael Wayland, Mary Barra, Nic Antaya, Fain, Biden, Joe Biden, Kinethia Black, Bolt Organizations: Tech Center, General Motors DETROIT, United Auto Workers, UAW, General Motors, Ford Motor, CNBC, EV, GM, Detroit, General Motors Factory, Getty, Ford, General Motors Orion Assembly, Chevrolet Locations: Warren , Michigan, Detroit, Ohio, Detroit , Michigan, Michigan, Orion Township , Michigan

☆ EPA proposes auto pollution limits to aggressively boost electric vehicle sales
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Emma Newburger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The proposed limits would surpass President Joe Biden's previous commitment to have EVs make up roughly 50% of cars sold by 2030 and accelerate the country's clean energy transition. The limits would also substantially reduce climate-changing emissions from the transportation sector, the largest source of U.S. greenhouse gases. Despite a rise in EV sales in the U.S. in recent years, EV sales accounted for only 5.8% of all the 13.8 million new vehicles sold in the country last year, an increase from 3.1% the year before, according to data from the Kelley Blue Book. EPA Administrator Michael Regan is set to announce the proposed limits later today at the agency headquarters in Washington. "This proposal solicits a number of ways to achieve these goals and we plan to strategically engage all our stakeholders."

☆ The U.S. passed a historic climate deal this year — here's a recap of what's in the bill
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Emma Newburger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

The IRA's provisions have major implications for clean energy and manufacturing businesses, climate startups and consumers in the coming years. As 2022 comes to a close, here's a look back at the key elements in the legislation that climate and clean energy advocates will be monitoring in 2023. Taking aim at methane gas emissionsSome pumpjacks operate while others stand idle in the Belridge oil field near McKittrick, California. Mario Tama | Getty ImagesThe package imposes a tax on energy producers that exceed a certain level of methane gas emissions. And the bill has a hydrogen production tax credit, which provides hydrogen producers with a credit based on the climate attributes of their production methods.

☆ Here's what America's top CEOs are saying about a possible recession in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Rebecca Picciotto | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty ImagesAs 2023 approaches and the prospect of a recession looms, corporate America is preparing for a slowdown in consumer spending. Here's what they said:Jamie Dimon, JPMorganwatch nowRising interest rates, record inflation, geopolitical pressure and other factors could coalesce into a recession, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon told CNBC. Mary Barra, GMwatch nowGeneral Motors CEO Mary Barra anticipates economic headwinds next year but is not sounding the alarms for a recession just yet. Though Walmart is still seeing strong spending, McMillon has spotted more conservative spending in certain categories like electronics and toys. "If I didn't watch CNBC in the morning – which I do – the word recession wouldn't be in my vocabulary," Kirby said.

☆ UAW seeks election to represent GM battery joint venture workers
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Jonathan ErnstOct 31 (Reuters) - The United Auto Workers on Monday said it was seeking an election to represent workers at a General Motors (GM.N)/LG Energy (373220.KS) battery cell manufacturing joint venture in Ohio after the companies refused to recognize the union. In August, the Warren, Ohio Ultium plant began production, the first of least four planned U.S. battery factories by the joint venture. In May, President Joe Biden, in a trip to South Korea, expressed support for workers seeking to unionize joint venture battery plants. "For every joint venture that manufactures electric vehicle batteries would be made stronger by collective bargaining relationships with American unions," Biden said. GM and LG Energy are considering an Indiana site for a fourth U.S. battery plant expected to cost about $2.5 billion.

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