Reference no: EM132891538

Case Study: General Motors General Motors' plan to close its Oshawa plant in 2019 as part of a global restructuring plan. It's not certain how many of the 2,500 labourers and 300 salaried employees will definitively lose their jobs under the sweeping strategy, which GM says aims to lower carbon emissions and prepare for a future of electric and autonomous vehicles. When GM confirmed the closure in a statement it said the company is exploring options to retool the facility. However, there are no guarantees. The facility could be retooled and given newer vehicles to assemble, or the plant could shut down entirely. However, even in a best-case scenario, it's unlikely that nearly as many labourers would be required with the new lineup of electric and autonomous vehicles, should GM ultimately decide to retool the plant. The bad news is by no means restricted to just Oshawa and surrounding areas, including feeder companies. General Motors is closing a total of five North American plants and will reduce its salaried workforce by 15%, including a quarter of the company's executives. As many as 14,000 jobs in total could be on the line.

Source: Union Defiant in Wake of GM Shutdown News, CBJ, Friday, January 25, 2019. https://www.cbj.ca/union-defiant-in-wakeof-gm-shutdown-news/. Accessed Jan 25, 2019.

Case

Questions: 1

a) Discuss the threats and opportunities GM is reacting to in the external environment.

b) Describe the economic system where a private company like GM is allowed to make a decision that negatively affects hundreds of thousands of workers?

c) List the various stakeholders for GM. Argue whether or not GM is fulfilling its responsibility toward each stakeholder of the company.

d) What are the advantages and disadvantage of having a union in this case (look at the impacts on both workers and the company)? What can the union do to protect the workers?