GM stock slips after disclosing ‘voluntary separation program’ resulting in $1.5 billion employee separation charges

Shares of General Motors Co.
GM,
-1.63%
slipped 0.1% in premarket trading Thursday, after the automaker announced a voluntary separation program (VSP) that is expected to lead to an employee separation charge of $1.5 billion. The announcement comes a little over a week after The Detroit News reported that GM was cutting about 500 jobs, which was roughly a month after the company said it wasn’t planning layoffs. But on Jan. 31, the company said it planned to implement a cost-cutting program aimed at cutting costs by $2.0 billion per year by 2024. On Thursday, GM said the VSP was an effort to “accelerate the normal attrition process” and the resulting cost savings. GM said it expects to record the bulk of the separation charges in the first half of 2023. GM’s stock has run up 18.2% year to date through Wednesday, while the S&P 500
SPX,
+0.25%
has gained 4.0%.