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Speaker 1: Joining us now and please to say on Bloomberg TV

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Speaker 1: and on Bloomberg Radio GMCO Mary Barra, Mary, wonderful to

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Speaker 1: catch up with you. Your stuff is loving you this morning.

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Speaker 1: We'll get into that in just a moment. I want

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Speaker 1: to go through some of the numbers for our audience.

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Speaker 1: Did it end up thirty three percent? Biggest ever buyback plan?

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Speaker 1: Ten billion dollars forty billion dollar name yesterday? Just some

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Speaker 1: context perspective there that is massive inquiring minds, Mary will

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Speaker 1: want to know why have you decided to deliver a

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Speaker 1: ten billion dollar buy back shortly after you've signed a

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Speaker 1: labor contract that adds nine point three billion to expenses

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Speaker 1: over its term.

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Speaker 2: Well, as we looked at what was happening from a

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Speaker 2: labor perspective, we had built and really the labor environment

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Speaker 2: going into our negotiations, we had put conservative estimates into

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Speaker 2: our plan. So although it was a little higher than

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Speaker 2: what we expected, we believe that we have and our

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Speaker 2: guidance for next year has already we've already said that

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Speaker 2: we'll be able to offset that completely with the plan

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Speaker 2: that we already had a two billion dollar cost out perspective.

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Speaker 2: So we did the right thing to recognize our manufacturing

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Speaker 2: team members who have done a great job and continue

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Speaker 2: to build vehicles safely with high quality. And we also

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Speaker 2: thought that we've got to look and make sure that

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Speaker 2: we're balanced across all of our stakeholders, and our owners

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Speaker 2: are very important. So we think this was a very

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Speaker 2: balanced response when we look at what was done from

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Speaker 2: a labor perspective and what we're doing as part of

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Speaker 2: our capital allocation framework for our owners.

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Speaker 1: Well, let's get into that. So shareholders are super happy.

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Speaker 1: The name is up by almost eleven percent so far

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Speaker 1: this morning. I wonder if you aw Wiz Mary, they

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Speaker 1: didn't get the forty percent they wanted, they got twenty

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Speaker 1: five plus cost of living adjustments and other things as well.

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Speaker 1: Is the odddics of this this morning not something that

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Speaker 1: concerns you.

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Speaker 2: When I look at it, I think it's balanced. Again,

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Speaker 2: we have very well compensated and you know, when you

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Speaker 2: look at the suite of benefits that our represented team

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Speaker 2: members have, it's a very very appropriate package and frankly

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Speaker 2: leading from an industry perspective broader than just the auto industry.

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Speaker 2: So I think we did the right thing to recognize

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Speaker 2: and reward the hard work of our manufacturing team members

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Speaker 2: across the board. But also one of the things our

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Speaker 2: manufacturing team members very much value is job security. And

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Speaker 2: to have job security, you have to have a strong

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Speaker 2: company and you have to look at all of your stakeholders.

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Speaker 2: So what we did from a share buyback perspective for

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Speaker 2: our owners is I think a very balanced response.

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Speaker 1: As you know, this move this morning not just about

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Speaker 1: the capital return program, also about cost cuts. We know

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Speaker 1: you're looking to fully offset that labor contract the additional

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Speaker 1: costs from it. Have you identified where you will cut

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Speaker 1: where you need to cut?

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Speaker 2: Yes, a lot of this was already underway. At the

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Speaker 2: beginning of this year calendar year twenty twenty three, we

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Speaker 2: announced a two billion dollar cost reduction structural cost reduction

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Speaker 2: between twenty three and the end of twenty four. That's

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Speaker 2: well underway. As I said, we also comprehended that we

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Speaker 2: would have increases in our labor cost as we looked

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Speaker 2: at what the environment and also wanting to reward our

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Speaker 2: manufacturing employees. So you know, there's work going across many

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Speaker 2: aspects of the business and including making our products more

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Speaker 2: efficient while still having the features, the functionality and beautiful

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Speaker 2: designs that our customers want, So there's been a concentrated

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Speaker 2: effort at the company to lower our fixed costs while

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Speaker 2: enabling wonderful products and rewarding the team that is helping

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Speaker 2: us deliver them.

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Speaker 1: Clearly, these are additional costs. Are they forcing a change

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Speaker 1: in execution or a change in strategy?

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Speaker 2: Definitely not a change in strategy. Our strategy is clear.

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Speaker 2: It's really based on four pillars of executing our strong

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Speaker 2: internal combustion engine program vehicles and we see we're performing

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Speaker 2: very well in the market and we see that we're

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Speaker 2: below the average incentives. I think that speaks to the

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Speaker 2: strength of our internal combustion engine products. From an ev perspective,

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Speaker 2: we have confidence in the portfolio we have. We're a

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Speaker 2: bit disappointed this year that we were constrained by the

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Speaker 2: automation to build modules. So this is not something that

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Speaker 2: is fundable mentally an issue with Altium. That was more

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Speaker 2: manufacturing automation issue that we're working and we'll be out

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Speaker 2: of it by middle of next year and making improvement

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Speaker 2: every quarter. From that perspective. Also, software and this year.

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Speaker 2: Earlier this year, Mike Abbott joined our team who brings

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Speaker 2: tremendous software expertise and he's built a very strong team

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Speaker 2: that we'll share more about when we get to our

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Speaker 2: investor day in March of next year. And then autonomy

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Speaker 2: and when you look at autonomous vehicles and the importance

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Speaker 2: of this technology and the talent that we have at Cruise.

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Speaker 2: We are doing an independent reviews from an incident perspective

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Speaker 2: but also overall from a safety perspective, and that will

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Speaker 2: guide our path forward there. But we have a very

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Speaker 2: capable team there. So the four pillars of our strategy

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Speaker 2: have not changed at all. What has changed is our tactics,

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Speaker 2: and our tactics are changing because of the world is changing.

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Speaker 2: We never thought that the EV adoption would necessarily be

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Speaker 2: a straight line. We've seen this in other markets. We're

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Speaker 2: seeing it now in the US. But I think the

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Speaker 2: thing that everybody has to remember, or if the growth

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Speaker 2: is slowing, it is still growing. And we think as

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Speaker 2: we get more of the EV products we have this

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Speaker 2: year into next, we think we're going to see is

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Speaker 2: strong adoption for our products. And as the charging infrastructure

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Speaker 2: continues to be more robust, we think that's going to

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Speaker 2: drive adoption as well as having affordable evs. And that's

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Speaker 2: where when you look at the Chevrolet Equinox, as well

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Speaker 2: as the Blazer and the Bolt that's coming. We're going

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Speaker 2: to be having products in that range of affordable vehicles

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Speaker 2: that is going to be very important from EV adoption.

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Speaker 1: Two things to unpack there. One is robot taxis, the

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Speaker 1: other is EV. So let's deal with robot taxis first.

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Speaker 1: Your count to get expenses on crews substantially. Just how

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Speaker 1: committed are you there? I remember only a number of

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Speaker 1: years ago we were talking about bringing in fifty billion

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Speaker 1: in revenue by twenty thirty. And I get it, Marry.

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Speaker 1: We'll understand that new tech is tough to develop, it's

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Speaker 1: hard to deploy. I think we're seeing that across a

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Speaker 1: range of issues. But when do you know if it's

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Speaker 1: the right time just to walk away.

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Speaker 2: From this well, I think the first of all, when

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Speaker 2: you look at the progress that the Creuse team has

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Speaker 2: made over the eight last eight years when General Motors

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Speaker 2: acquired crews, I think it's substantial. And we've already demonstrated

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Speaker 2: that the cruise vehicle can perform at a level that's

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Speaker 2: safer than a human driver. Let's not forget over forty

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Speaker 2: thousand people on average lose their lives in traffic accidents

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Speaker 2: in the US alone, and ninety percent of them are

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Speaker 2: caused by human error. What we have learned with this

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Speaker 2: incident is it's got to be significantly better than a

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Speaker 2: human driver to drive adoption, and we have to do

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Speaker 2: a much better job of working with the regulators. That's

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Speaker 2: something that GM has a long reputation of working and

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Speaker 2: being transparent with regulators at the local, state, and federal level.

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Speaker 2: So I think as we do that and get the

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Speaker 2: results of the independent review we're doing, that will guide

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Speaker 2: us on our path forward. From an AV perspective.

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Speaker 1: I'm always interested in how we know when we're wrong

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Speaker 1: an exercise I think everyone has to go through, including

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Speaker 1: myself married. But on this topic of evs, the slowdown,

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Speaker 1: what's behind it and why aren't we just learning that

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Speaker 1: America consumers just don't want these costs?

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Speaker 2: Well, I don't think it's that American consumers just don't

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Speaker 2: want these cars. I think there still is limited availability

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Speaker 2: when you look at the choice that customers have today.

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Speaker 2: From an internal combustion vehicle perspective, I think a lot

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Speaker 2: of the evs that are out right now are more expensive.

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Speaker 2: You've got to look at where the sweet spot of

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Speaker 2: the market is, and when you really want to win

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Speaker 2: an EV's, you've got to make sure that you are

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Speaker 2: meeting the customer who only owns one vehicle. That's the

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Speaker 2: bulk of people who buy vehicles today, new vehicles. They

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Speaker 2: only own one vehicle or if they have two in

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Speaker 2: their family. They're needed every day to earning their livelihoods.

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Speaker 2: So we've got to get affordable. There's got to be

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Speaker 2: a robust charging infrastructure. So again, the growth hasn't gone

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Speaker 2: in reverse, it's slowing. I think we never expected. We

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Speaker 2: thought it would be have some bumps along the way.

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Speaker 2: I think that's what we're seeing right now. But I

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Speaker 2: think when we have EV's that are affordable, when the

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Speaker 2: people realize how much fun they are to drive and

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Speaker 2: the performance and they're not giving anything up and then

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Speaker 2: that all important charging infrastructure, I think you know we're

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Speaker 2: going to see them start to grow at a more

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Speaker 2: rapid breed again. And that's something that we'll continue to watch.

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Speaker 2: And that's why we've changed some of our tactics to

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Speaker 2: be responsive to where the customer is.

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Speaker 1: You've been super generous with your time. Marriage just want

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Speaker 1: to fit in one further question right now, you're a

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Speaker 1: forty three billion dollar name. It's a big move this

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Speaker 1: morning by ten percent. The forward multiple we're talking about

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Speaker 1: four times expected earnings a little more than that after

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Speaker 1: today's move. The stock has been dead money for the

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Speaker 1: best part of a decade. You've been doing this a

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Speaker 1: long time. I know you're super close with investors. What

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Speaker 1: is it that you think is in this plan, this

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Speaker 1: strategy that you have and a strategy that you've suggested

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Speaker 1: this morning hasn't changed, that's going to turn this around.

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Speaker 2: Well, I think demonstrating our commitment to all of our

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Speaker 2: stakeholders and the I think when you look at a

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Speaker 2: ten billion dollar accelerated buyback program, it should signal because

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Speaker 2: it means we have confidence in the cash generation ability

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Speaker 2: of this company. We have and incident our strategy across

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Speaker 2: the four pillars that I covered. Yes, we had some

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Speaker 2: challenges this year with our ultim based evs that I

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Speaker 2: think gave investors some concern, But we're demonstrating the confidence

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Speaker 2: that we and the board have that we're executing the

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Speaker 2: strategy and we're going to see growth, strong cash flow,

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Speaker 2: and strong margins. That's what we're going to deliver.

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Speaker 1: That's captured in today's move. Up nine percent. Mary appreciate

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Speaker 1: your time, really do you. Thanks for catching up with us,

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Speaker 1: Mary bar there of GM