General Motors Dismisses 185 Engineers in the State of São Paulo

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The automotive multinational General Motors (GM) has dismissed 185 engineers at its units in the State of São Paulo, according to the São Caetano do Sul Metalworkers Union.

The dismissals have also been repudiated by the Union of Engineers of the State of São Paulo (SEESP), according to which the company has terminated 125 workers with a Voluntary Resignation Plan (PDV) opened between August 28th and 30th.

A further 60 layoffs took place in the city of Indaiatuba after a failed attempt at a non-adherent PDV.

GM has not confirmed the number of layoffs, saying only in a note that the company “opened a Voluntary Resignation Plan (PDV) on August 28th, 2019 for a number of functional areas allocated to the São Caetano do Sul Complex with the goal of adjusting the structure to its business needs.

The deadline for joining the PDV was August 30th, 2019″, he said, with no explanation as to the reasons for this “adjustment”.

In the testing field in Indaiatuba, workers denounced that the layoffs were announced when they came to work on Wednesday, September 4th.

In March, the company was granted full exemption from the Urban Property and Territorial Tax (IPTU), approximately R$12 million (US$3 million) per year, and a reduction in the rate of the Tax on Services (ISS) from five percent to two percent, approximately R$100 million, from the São Caetano City Hall so that it would be able to sustain its activities.

“We will have a fiscal relief of R$100 million in this period, but we expect increased production and higher Tax on Circulation of Goods and Services collection (ICMS), which will result in a return of R$1.1 billion in these eight years,” said city mayor Auricchio Júnior, at the time.

In addition, the state government exempted the assembler in 25 percent of the ICMS for the maintenance of its activities and jobs, as part of the IncentivAuto program.

At the time, the automaker announced investments of R$10 billion between 2020 and 2024 to modernize the plant, in addition to launching a vehicle by the end of the year, which would be manufactured in the unit, in return.

In addition to preserving 13.4 jobs, the company would also generate 400 more direct jobs and 800 indirect jobs.

In a note, SEESP stated that “the dismissal of highly qualified engineers – mostly working in the company’s development center in the city of ABC Paulista – is a worrisome measure not only for those who were dismissed and their families but also for the prospects of future projects and investments of the company”.

FORD

GM was not the only automaker to announce the mass layoffs in recent weeks, despite the state government’s plan for waivers.

Workers at Ford‘s Testing Ground in Tatuí (SP) decided on Friday, September 6th, to proceed with the strike after the announcement of 270 layoffs without a benefits package offered by the company in return. The strike was started on September 2nd.

Source: Hora do Povo

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