Corvette Team member Harlan Charles forced to retire.

[ariZona28]

I was unaware of the accomplishments of this individual. Nice job gm.
https://www.corvetteblogger.com/2025...fter-37-years/

[detamble13]

The article mentions a potential other member of team Corvette being let go. It makes me think they're headed in another direction in product development and don't want to deal with any dissenting voices. Basically they're going EV with Corvette and with this shift they will bring in a new team. Not to figure out how to sell the car to their existing customer base but how to appeal to a whole new one.

[GreenZLE]

Originally Posted by detamble13

The article mentions a potential other member of team Corvette being let go. It makes me think they're headed in another direction in product development and don't want to deal with any dissenting voices. Basically they're going EV with Corvette and with this shift they will bring in a new team. Not to figure out how to sell the car to their existing customer base but how to appeal to a whole new one.

If you're right and GM is going all EV with the vette, GM is even dumber than I thought.
But hey, I dont run that company so if they want to shrink their customer base, so be it!

[Iron Lung Jimmy]

A fully electric Corvette, even it goes 0-60 in 1 second and pulls 2g's on the skidpad, will fail miserably. I don't think even gm is that stupid.

[detamble13]

Keeping the small block V8 and potentially even offering a manual in the current mid engine layout keeps a bunch of people interested. Traditional Vette owners and people like myself might step up to ownership eventually if it offers the sound and experience. I don't think they'll go all EV Corvette in the near future but do think gm envies Teslas stock price and with a commitment to all EV in light vehicles if enough consumers purchased sporty EVs that would be your Corvette.
Unless this employee was an entirely huge pain in the ass and you don't want to admit it, why let them go. Does gm need to save this salary in a cost savings measure. I don't know.

[Martinjlm]

Originally Posted by detamble13

The article mentions a potential other member of team Corvette being let go. It makes me think they're headed in another direction in product development and don't want to deal with any dissenting voices. Basically they're going EV with Corvette and with this shift they will bring in a new team. Not to figure out how to sell the car to their existing customer base but how to appeal to a whole new one.

What I'm about to say doesn't make this situation any better, but it does simply put it in a clearer light.

Harlan was not let go because of any shift in product development direction or anything of the sort. In fact it was borderline arbitrary (see, I said it wasn't better...just different).

One day about 1,000 people got emails saying "you are no longer an employee of General Motors." Period. Done. End of story. I worked with and or was friends with a number of these people, including Harlan.

I assume there was some rationale as to why person A was let go and person B was retained. I sure as hell don't know what that was and neither do the people that were let go. The person who took on my position when I retired is a good friend. He was one of the ones let go. But all the people that reported to him are still in place, reporting to someone else. Like Harlan, this person was one of the absolute best at what he does and is on first name basis with many industry heavyweights, and yet...

My best understanding of this is that it is the follow-on to when several months ago gm offered buyouts to a sizable portion of the salaried workforce and said at the time that if they did not reach their target number of acceptances, there would be non-voluntary separations. Although I did not ask Harlan specifically, others that I spoke with who were let go all said they were offered the last round of buyouts and declined.

I understand all the issues around "right sizing" an organization, but so much of what happened on that day appeared to be very arbitrary. And to do it be email saying "don't report to your office today" is the ultimate in low class.

[90503]

A lot of that going around...

Too bad he isn't a federal bureaucrat that could get a judge to block his dismissal...lol

[Martinjlm]

Originally Posted by 90503

A lot of that going around...

Too bad he isn't a federal bureaucrat that could get a judge to block his dismissal...lol

Probably because the person doing the dismissing was actually an employee of the company.

[90503]

Originally Posted by Martinjlm

Probably because the person doing the dismissing was actually an employee of the company.

Yeah, I doubt Mary Barra did the firing personally. Could have been someone she authorized to handle it for her.

[Iron Lung Jimmy]

Originally Posted by Martinjlm

Harlan was not let go because of any shift in product development direction or anything of the sort. In fact it was borderline arbitrary (see, I said it wasn't better...just different).

I assume there was some rationale as to why person A was let go and person B was retained.

In at least one of the layoffs I've been through the rationale was simply salary. In any given category, the people making the most money were let go. Period. No consideration given to anything else.

And to do it be email saying "don't report to your office today" is the ultimate in low class.

Not great but way better than, as was the style a few years back, being pulled out of your office by HR and perp walked to the elevator. Compared to that an email actually seems kind.

[Martinjlm]

Originally Posted by Iron Lung Jimmy

...

Not great but way better than, as was the style a few years back, being pulled out of your office by HR and perp walked to the elevator. Compared to that an email actually seems kind.

I agree that handling through an email could be better than a perp walk, but then it depends on how and when it's done over email. The first person who told me about this being done over email received the email at 5:08 am on a day that he would normally get up and get prepared to go to work. More appropriate would have been to send the email following the last day of work. Should also note that several people I know don't check there work email until they get to work. So they would have gotten to the office only to find that their badge no longer worked.

I had to let a guy go not too long ago. I used our usual 1:1 meeting time to just walk around and explain to him that we were letting him go and why. He had a little over a month until his last day and we were giving him health care benefits for several more months until he could find something else. He went through his finances, realized that not only was he in pretty good shape to retire, but his funds would go even further if he relocated back to his home country. I'm taking a vacation later this year to his home country. We're gonna hang out. It can be done without blowing up someone's entire life.

[GreenZLE]

Sounds like GM has McKinsey running things!

[Capricio]

Originally Posted by detamble13

Not to figure out how to sell the car to their existing customer base but how to appeal to a whole new one.

...follow Dodge's example? ...okay, maybe not.

https://www.theautopian.com/the-curr...-cars-is-over/

This talks about the "changes" on the Corvette team, gets a bit nostalgic over days gone by, and holds out some optimism for the future. I don't really share that optimism. All I see is a future of full of Crossover BEVs that are indistinguistable from each other. A dark age for car enthusiasts.

[snizzle]

Originally Posted by Martinjlm

...but his funds would go even further if he relocated back to his home country.

Man, you deported the guy!