Just last month, General Motors announced plans to kill off six models and close down several of its North American factories. The canceled models include the Chevrolet Volt, Cruze, and Impala, Buick LaCrosse, as well as the Cadillac CT6 and XTS. It is still unclear whether or not the plants building these cars will be shut down permanently or if GM has other plans for them. Tesla has even been rumored to be interested in buying one or more of the plants.

In the aftermath of this news, GM has announced there will be some obvious layoffs coming despite threats from President Trump saying, "If GM doesn't want to keep their jobs in the United States, they should pay back the $11.2 billion bailout that was funded by the American taxpayer."

More details about these plant closures are starting to emerge and Reuters has reported the first of what will likely be a large number of layoffs. This week, GM announced its plans to cut 50 jobs from its Detroit lithium-ion battery assembly plant after announcing that the Volt won't be continued beyond the 2019 model year.

In a separate filing with the state of Michigan, GM specified it would be cutting 37 hourly jobs and 13 salaried jobs in February. The Brownstown Battery plant currently employs 116 people, who in addition to making the batteries for the Volt, also build batteries for the mild hybrid LaCrosse.

These layoffs are minuscule compared to the rumored 15,000 jobs that could potentially be cut around North America. In a separate notice related to the Volt and LaCrosse, GM also announced another 700 jobs that will be cut at its Detroit-Hamtramck plant where the two cars are assembled. GM will make partial amends by offering jobs to 2,800 active hourly workers in Michigan, Ohio, and Maryland, though it seems like the American auto giant has a tough road ahead of it in terms of brand image.