General Motors announced Monday that it will close five factories, lay off nearly 15,000 or 15 percent of its salaried workers, and shut down five plants in North America. These cuts break down to around 8,000 white-collar workers, and 5,000 factory workers. General Motors is the leading enterprise in car manufacturing along with other productions. This news comes after the fear of tariffs and dealing with unknown market changes have seen the auto industry’s raw-material costs for steel and aluminum skyrocket, costing the company over $1 billion this year alone. Car plants in Oshawa, Ontario, Detroit-Hamtramck, and Lordstown, Ohio will stop production while transmission plants in White Marsh, Maryland and Warren, Michigan are also halting operations. The automaker said it would save $6 billion annually by thinning its salaried management positions, laying off thousands of factory workers, and focusing on the production of larger sport-utility vehicles rather than sedans which due to the lower gas prices consumers seem be gravitating towards. The company is looking ahead to try to stop major issues that could happen as a result to the decline in sales and the rise in prices for materials. GM is currently dealing with declining sales in China and a slower demand for certain models in North America, which is its two biggest markets. GM has shifted its focus on electric, ride-sharing, and autonomous vehicles while eliminating poor-selling models such as the Chevrolet Impala, Cruze, Volt, Cadillac CT6, and the Buick LaCrosse. The sales of  those cars have been in rapid decline needing heavy incentives to sell while many of those sales go to fleet or rental agencies. A drop in new car sales  have forced automakers such as GM to slim their operations and shed jobs. The United Auto Workers union and GM plan to close the 5 plants by the end of 2019.