General Motors (GM) has announced plans to lay off approximately 1,000 employees worldwide as part of a plan to reduce fixed costs by $2 billion by the end of 2024.

The cuts will primarily impacting white-collar workers in the United States.

The layoffs, communicated to affected employees on Friday, include positions across various departments, with a significant concentration at the company’s technical center in Warren, Michigan.

“We need to optimize for speed and excellence,” GM said in a statement.

“This includes operating with efficiency, ensuring we have the right team structure and focusing on our top priorities.”

Three Rounds of Redundancies Since 2023

GM and come as the automaker navigates a challenging global market and the transition to electric vehicles (EVs).

GM’s previous cost-cutting measures have included offering voluntary buyouts to 5,000 salaried employees––with at least five years of service––in April 2023.

At the time GM said it couldn’t completely rule out layoffs in the future, saying that “involuntary separations are not a consideration at this point.”

Additionally, the automaker reduced its workforce earlier this year, laying off more than 1,000 software workers in August and approximately 1,700 employees at a Kansas manufacturing plant in September.

Despite this, GM’s global workforce remains substantial, with about 150,000 employees worldwide. The company reported having 76,000 white-collar workers at the end of 2023, of whom roughly 53,000 were based in the U.S.

“We are grateful to those who helped establish a strong foundation that positions GM to lead in the industry moving forward,” said GM spokesperson Kevin Kelly.

GM’s Investment in EV’s and European Expansion

EV adoption in the U.S. market is growing slower than expected, with electric vehicle sales rising just 7.2 percent year-to-date through September, according to Motorintelligence.com.

EV sales are poised to exceed last year’s record of 1.19 million units sold.

In recent years, GM has invested heavily in its EV lineup, battery plants, and related infrastructure to remain competitive. However, the cost-intensive nature of these initiatives has necessitated balancing new ventures with updates to existing gasoline-powered models.

GM’s attempts at expansion were made evident in last year’s announcement that it would reenter the European market with a focus on selling Cadillac electric vehicles (EVs).

This move signaled a renewed global outlook for the company following its exit from the region in 2017.

“More than one-fifth of all new cars sold [in Europe] are now electric, and frankly General Motors needs all the EV sales it can get to help offset the massive investment it’s making in its electric vehicles,” David Undercoffler, Editor-in-Chief of Autolist.com told Newsweek in an interview last year.

Recent Recalls Due To SUV Wheel-Locking

Earlier this week, General Motors recalled approximately 462,000 pickup trucks and SUVs due to a transmission defect that could cause the rear wheels to lock up, increasing the risk of a crash.

The affected models include the Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra, Cadillac Escalade, GMC Yukon, Chevrolet Tahoe, and Suburban from the 2020 to 2022 model years.

GM is addressing the issue by installing new software to monitor and detect wear on the transmission control valve, with owner notifications beginning December 9.

This article includes reporting from the Associated Press