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"we've given dealers who are not aligned with Buick's future to exit voluntarily in a respectful and structured way ..."

GM buys out around half of its Buick dealers

Dealers accepting the buyouts declined to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars to sell and service General Motors' future electric vehicles.

Published Dec. 21, 2023

• General Motors has bought out around half of Buick dealers that declined to invest at least $300,000 to sell and service its future electric vehicles, a company spokesperson confirmed in an email.
• Dealers accepting the buyout will no longer sell Buick vehicles, but they can continue to sell GMC and Chevrolet brand vehicles, according to the Wall Street Journal.
• The buyouts come as GM significantly scaled back its EV rollout as the company deals with weak demand, manufacturing delays and low margins on EVs. Buick has no electric models on the market, but GM plans to transform the luxury brand into an EV-only brand by 2030.

Dive Insight:

The investment by dealers is intended to cover the costs of installing EV chargers, training staff to service EVs and other initiatives, according to the Wall Street Journal. Before the buyouts, GM had roughly 2,000 Buick dealers. However, a GM spokesperson told the WSJ that most Buick dealers have made the required upfront EV investments. As a result of the buyouts, GM said it will have around 1,000 Buick dealers left.

...

"This year we've given dealers who are not aligned with Buick's future to exit voluntarily in a respectful and structured way; with the full support of our National Dealer Council," a GM spokesperson said in an email.

As a small business owner I can imagine the anguish of dealers opting to give up businesses they have built over the years rather than follow GM into their high risk EV gamble. Running a business is more than a job, it is a labor of love - something you put your heart into, part of your identity as a person.

I'm guessing the dealers who accepted the buyouts felt they had no choice.

It is unlikely the $300,000 required investment to retool for EVs is the reason automobile dealers left the industry. There is big money in automobiles, a friend who runs a repair shop and towing service in a country town makes well north of $100,000 per month. The only reason I can think of for business owners bailing over a $300,000 mandatory investment is if the dealers thought they would lose a lot more than $300,000.

GM might have the political pull to demand and receive fat taxpayer bailouts when management incompetence drives the company into bankruptcy. Small independent automobile dealers not so much.

Merry (late) Christmas from Australia - I hope everyone had a day filled with love and loved ones.

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To the last Ukrainian:

People with "amputated limbs, practical blindness, absence of one lung or eye and bilateral deafness" can be conscripted into military based on draft of new law on mobilization.

"The large draft law on mobilization exempts from military service on the basis of health status only in the presence of the first and second groups of disabilities.

The third group is not mentioned in the draft document, so they are automatically considered suitable. Assigning the third group of disabilities means quite serious health problems, in particular limb amputations.

Here are the main examples: absence of one lung or eye; practical blindness resulting from an occupational disease, occupational disability or military injury. One eye after a domestic injury or illness; bilateral deafness; paralysis or absence of a hand, paralysis of the upper or lower limbs; a significant defect of the bones of the skull, pulsation of the brain; the absence of a hand and a higher level of amputation of the upper limb; the absence of all phalanges of the four fingers of the hand, except for the first; absence of fingers on the hand, stump of the thigh or lower leg; congenital or acquired dislocation of the hip joints or one hip joint with significant functional impairment; complete thyroidectomy (removal of the thyroid gland); artificial valve in the heart; absence of one kidney with pathology of the other; bilateral mastectomy (breast removal in women due to mammary gland diseases).

The draft law on mobilization, which is being prepared, provides for new duties for Ukrainians.

On December 21, MP Maryana Bezugla published on Facebook theses from the upcoming document, from which it follows that everyone is obliged to appear at the military commissariat to clarify personal data and undergo a medical examination.

There will no longer be a category of "limited suitability" for service."

Zelensky is in zugzwang when it comes to mobilization. Ukraine is unlikely to have a lot of big offensive potential lacking both the motivated troops and the necessary equipment in the quantity needed, however even to defend the country needs a lot more manpower.

Ukraine is currently tightening the mobilization laws. Which will lead to some unpleasant things. Many men will literally go into hiding, not showing up to work not to receive a draft notice as long as they're able to survive off their savings as long as possible or the money their wives, girlfriends or parents earn. In 2021 Ukraine's agricultural exports totaled over $27 billion, accounting for 41% of the country's overall exports.

This economy sector took a massive hit with this war. Many fields are covered with mines, Ukraine lost control of some rich agricultural areas, Kakhovka dam destruction, Ukraine not able to export as much it wants to with sea routes due to Russian blockade. Another important factor turned out to be the mobilization. Most of Ukrainian villages have been emptied out of military age men.

From conversations with people involved in agricultural business it's acknowledged that a lot of workers from rural areas have been mobilized, many have already been killed which will lead to shortage of workers in agricultural sector all across Ukraine. With villages and small towns already maxed out Ukraine will have to find a way to mobilize the planned 500,000 in big cities.

Looking to mobilize half a million men that have been trying to avoid exactly that for close to 2 year is by no means going to be easy task in itself. Then you will have to equip and train them. Those are two more problems even if he accept it as a fact that Ukraine will be able to mobilize them. Ukraine will need the resources and to find a way to train them under the threat of Russian strikes on potential training grounds.

Again we're talking about the need to forcibly draft 500,000 people in already limited mobilization pool of Ukraine. The men that didn't sign up on their own to join the army since February, 2022. Trying to take out 500,000 more men out of the already struggling economy to mobilize them into the army, plus the men that will try to hide from mobilization will certainly become a major problem for Ukraine next year.

This is one big crisis in the making.Combine that with the uncertainties when it comes to military and financial aid in upcoming year and there is a situation where Ukraine is going to be under a lot of pressure from various angles, not just by the Russian military on the front line slowly grinding its way forward.