GM CEO Barra hints at new product, promises full production soon

General Motors CEO Mary Barra plans more visits to factories to ensure worker safety, hinted at new products coming and driving the growth of electric vehicles. She also assured workers there are no job cuts anticipated.

Barra made the comments on the eve of GM's annual shareholder meeting, during an hour-long Automotive Press Association's fireside chat with reporters.

“I don’t see any further need for (job) reductions," Barra said. "I am really proud of the team across the globe. We've had cost-cutting actions and we’re on a good path now from what we started and built on since 2018.”

Despite the pandemic, Barra said GM is on track to be at full production by month's end. She will continue to visit plants to check on safety as the company frantically works to restock inventory of its hot-selling pickups and SUVs.

"I’ve been to eight plants and plan to visit more,” Barra said. “When I talk to people, they’re glad to be back to work. Some people are either very affected, either having lost loved ones or have close friends, family or spouses working on the front line and others don’t know anyone. Our goal was that, as people return to work, they have confidence."

'A tragic year'

Barra characterized 2020 as a year that has changed how GM interacts with its customers and its employees and it proved it could step up to make face masks, lifesaving ventilators and other personal protective gear "without being asked."

"We are at a critical point for the company, our industry, our country and the global," Barra said. "I think 2020 will go down as a tragic year because of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.”

“Also 2020 will go down as the year — when America watched the brutal murder of a black man by a white police officer, and said enough is enough," Barra said.

Recently, union leaders at GM's Wentzville plant in Missouri and Arlington Assembly in Texas expressed concerns about worker safety. Barra said she has yet to visit those plants, but added, "The feedback I’ve been getting consistently is there was a lot done and they understand the protocols.”

More:GM declines request to shut down plant as cases of coronavirus grow, union says

GM has not set a specific date for bringing back its salaried workforce to offices, but Barra said GM is working with local and state leaders to make sure it follows the rules on returning to worksites. The automaker's focus is to get those who can't work from home back to the office first. GM wants to be sure that is done safely with its salaried workforce, Barra said. 

'Into dealers' hands'

 As  GM returns to full production, GM is determining the pace based on new-car sales forecasts. It's estimated that U.S. new light-vehicle sales will be around 14 million units this year, Barra said. 

"We feel we'll be running the plants, with a few exceptions, at rates that were similar to pre-COVID by the end of the month." 

GM is watching market demand on some vehicles and will adjust production accordingly, she said. Barra said GM's emphasis is to rebuild full-size pickup inventory first as well as the launch of the redesigned 2021 full-sized SUVs.

All full-size truck plants are running on three shifts, she said, “which should get those constrained products into dealers’ hands as soon as we can.”

When asked whether GM is planning to reveal any new vehicles, Barra said that plan is in the pipeline. She mentioned GM’s release of the new Cadillac CT5 and CT4 sedans last year and the redesigned pickups and full-sized SUVs coming to market now.

"We have a very robust product portfolio and there are other vehicles coming but I won’t get in front of our product development team and name them," Barra said.

As in her previous Wall Street presentations, Barra said GM remains committed and is on track with its electric vehicle program, but she expects the full adoption of electric vehicles to be decades off. The U.S. will see self-driving fleets on roadways within the next five years, she said. 

When pressed on when GM expects its self-driving subsidiary Cruise to launch a fleet of autonomous cars, Barra declined to give a specific date, but said, “You will see us continue to make progress and it will be quicker than people think."

More:Rivian hires a rising star at GM as the battle for EV dominance heats up

Diversity and inclusion

GM has been out front as a leader in diversity. On Monday, Cruise said it recognizes Juneteenth, which commemorates the end of slavery in the U.S., as a holiday. A GM spokesman said GM also plans to mark the day.

Barra recently renounced police brutality and publicly declared support for race equality in a letter to GM's workforce. She also commissioned and will chair an Inclusion Advisory Board made up of internal and external leaders, effective by the end of the quarter. Its goal is to inspire GM to be "the most inclusive company in the world."

Barra said Monday that GM will name members to the board in the next two weeks "or sooner."

More:GM's Mary Barra pens letter to workers amid George Floyd protests

On Monday, in reaction to a 6-3 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that said an employer who fires a worker for being gay or transgender violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, Barra tweeted: "Today’s decision by the Supreme Court is a historic day for the LGBTQ community. Everyone deserves to feel welcomed and valued for who they are; in the workplace and society."

Contact Jamie L. LaReau: 313-222-2149 or jlareau@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. Read more on General Motors and sign up for our autos newsletter.