General Motors cut a total of about 1,000 salaried and hourly employees early Friday morning as part of the new salaried employee ranking system as well as a "normal course of business" to achieve better operating efficiency.

 

The automaker will also stop using its Yuma Desert Proving Grounds in Arizona for hot-weather vehicle testing. In updated figures, that change will affect 33 jobs. Additionally, GM is permanently closing its Durability, Corrosion and Teardown departments at its Milford Proving Grounds in Michigan. The latter resulted in 44 UAW-represented hourly employees and 16 salaried employees being permanently laid off, the Detroit Free Press has confirmed.