Manufacturing · Profile from Manufacturing Research Companion: Companies, Strategic Moves, and Technical Studies
General Motors
The Detroit carmaker that William Durant assembled from Buick and a string of acquisitions in 1908 and that Alfred Sloan turned in the 1920s into the model of the modern corporation — a ladder of brands from Chevrolet to Cadillac on shared components, annual model changes, consumer credit and divisions run on financial controls. GM was the world's largest carmaker for most of the 20th century and the largest private employer in the US, then the largest industrial bankruptcy in US history (Chapter 11 on 1 Jun 2009, exit 10 Jul 2009, financed by the US Treasury). Its manufacturing story turns on scale without process discipline, legacy fixed costs, and capital matched — or not — to the cycle. GM was Toyota's partner at NUMMI from 1984 and had the Toyota system in its own Fremont plant for 25 years, yet spread it slowly; it spun off its parts arm Delphi (1999), which failed in 2005; it hid an ignition-switch defect linked to at least 124 deaths until 2014; and it bet on an all-electric future (Ultium, 2020; "all-electric by 2035", 2021) and on robotaxis (Cruise, 2016–24) before writing both down. Its full-size pickups and SUVs — Silverado, Sierra, Tahoe, Suburban, Yukon, Escalade — earn most of its profit, and in 2025–26 GM booked ~$11bn of EV-related charges while posting strong truck earnings.
At a glance
- Founded
- 16 Sep 1908 by William C. Durant as a holding company for Buick (from memory, verify); Durant lost control in 1910 and 1920; Pierre du Pont and then Alfred Sloan led the reorganisation (from memory, verify)
- Headquarters
- Detroit, Michigan (Renaissance Center; GM announced a move to the new Hudson's Detroit development, reported 2025, verify)
- Ownership / structure
- Public (NYSE: GM). "New GM" (General Motors Company) bought the viable assets of "old GM" (Motors Liquidation Company) in the 2009 Section 363 sale; the US Treasury sold its last shares in Dec 2013 (from memory, verify)
- Leadership (2026)
- Mary Barra, chair and CEO (CEO since Jan 2014); Paul Jacobson, CFO (from memory, verify titles)
- Segments
- GM North America (GMNA), GM International (incl. China JVs with SAIC), Cruise (folded into GM after Dec 2024), GM Financial
- Scale
- 2025: EV-related charges ~$7.6bn (Q3 ~$1.6bn, Q4 ~$6.0bn; 8-Ks and press). Q2 2026 (21 Jul 2026): revenue ~$48.0bn, EBIT-adjusted ~$3.9bn (8.2% margin), net income ~$1.3bn after a ~$2.3bn EV footprint charge and ~$177m China restructuring; 2026 EBIT-adjusted guidance raised to $14–16bn; US EV sales 27,395 in the quarter (−~41%). Q3 2026 (20 Oct 2026): revenue ~$50.0bn; net income more than doubled y/y; EV realignment adjustments ~$238m (vs ~$1,592m a year earlier); new $20bn buyback authorisation (company releases via press)
- Plants (US, selected)
- Fort Wayne (Indiana), Flint (Michigan), Arlington (Texas), Wentzville (Missouri), Bowling Green (Kentucky), Spring Hill (Tennessee), Factory Zero (Detroit-Hamtramck), Orion (Michigan), Lansing Delta Township and Grand River (Michigan), Fairfax (Kansas); Ultium Cells with LG Energy Solution at Warren, Ohio and Spring Hill, Tennessee (equal to Energy); Silao and Ramos Arizpe in Mexico
- Signature moves (incl. failures)
- Sloan's product ladder and divisions (1920s); the Flint sit-down strike (1936–37); NUMMI (1984) and Saturn (1985–2010); the Delphi spin-off (1999); Chapter 11 and the Treasury rescue (2009); the ignition-switch recall (2014); the Lordstown closure and the 2019 UAW strike; Ultium and "all-electric by 2035" (2020–21); the Cruise shutdown (Dec 2024) and the 2025–26 EV charges
9 strategic moves analysed
Each one gets a full strategy file in the companion: context, the decision, the financing, what happened, and the lesson.
1921
Sloan Product Ladder and Divisions
Strategy pivot and organisation design: a price-graded brand ladder on shared components, decentralised divisions under central financial control, annual model changes and consumer credit
1936
Flint Sit Down Strike
Labour agreement after a strike — GM's recognition of the United Automobile Workers
1985
Saturn and the NUMMI Lessons
Production-system change: a joint venture with Toyota (NUMMI, 1984) and a separate new car company with its own plant, labour agreement and dealers (Saturn, 1985)
1999
Delphi Spin Off
Make-vs-buy and spin-off — separating GM's in-house parts operations (Delphi Automotive Systems) into an independent listed supplier
2009
Chapter 11 and Treasury Rescue
Restructuring and bankruptcy with government financing (Section 363 sale of the viable business to a new company)
2014
Ignition Switch Recall
Quality failure, recall and regulatory/legal action — a defective ignition switch that could turn off engines, airbags and power steering
2018
Lordstown Closure and 2019 UAW Strike
Footprint consolidation (plant closures) followed by a national strike and a labour agreement
2021
Ultium and All Electric by 2035
Strategy pivot and technology bet: a common EV battery-and-drive architecture (Ultium), cell joint ventures with LG Energy Solution, conversion of assembly plants, and a public ambition to sell only zero-emission light vehicles by 2035
2024
Cruise Shutdown and 2025 EV Charges
Write-downs and restructuring (failure): ending robotaxi funding for Cruise, then cutting EV capacity, cancelling programmes and settling with suppliers