Washington backlash tests GM's resolve on factory closings, layoffs

Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra says a plan that will save General Motors about $6 billion by laying off 14,000 workers and idling five North American factories illustrates the carmaker’s resolve in the face of industry challenges like higher supply costs and shifting customer preferences.

It’s a quality the Detroit-based company, and Barra herself, will need in order to weather the backlash from Washington, where employees are better known as voters, all too likely to channel any economic frustrations into ballot-box decisions.