General Motors ($GM) is back in business.
CEO Mary Barra said she expects the company to full production by the end of the month, earlier this week in an Automotive Press Association's fireside chat with reporters. Barra also said she thinks she's done with job cuts for now, and alternative data covering GM job postings reflect this.
And from the looks of GM's alternative data, Barra's not kidding around. GM job postings, which fell to just a handful as of the beginning of June, just shot up to 155, representing most of its peak tally earlier this year. A look at GM's website today shows more added, reflecting an ongoing push to staff up and get back into production mode.
You can't get back to business without staffing up at HQ. In Detroit, job postings have nearly rebounded to the levels at which they began this year.
Still, for GM on the whole, and for GM in Detroit - hiring is just a fraction of what it has been in years past, and shares are still off about 25% in a turbulent 2020.
After seeing market leaders from airlines to big banks to tech companies cut job postings, furlough and lay off staff, it's a tremendous signal to workers and within the US economy that Barra believes GM can get back online and fully functional this month.
However, with cases soaring in states outside of Michigan, it remains to be seen how long this ambitious plan can be sustained - and whether or not there will even be demand elsewhere in the US for new autos, should a second wave of Coronavirus grip the nation.
About the Data:
Thinknum tracks companies using the information they post online - jobs, social and web traffic, product sales, and app ratings - and creates data sets that measure factors like hiring, revenue, and foot traffic. Data sets may not be fully comprehensive (they only account for what is available on the web), but they can be used to gauge performance factors like staffing and sales.
