Business

General Motors laid off more than 200 salaried employees on Friday, as the automaker continues to cut costs.
The job cuts were primarily Computer-Aided Design, or CAD, engineers who worked at the company’s global tech campus in metro Detroit, according to GM.
The layoffs come days after the Detroit automaker raised its 2025 financial guidance.

The headquaters of US auto company General Motos (GM) in Detroit, Michigan.
Uli Deck | Picture Alliance | Getty Images

DETROIT – General Motors laid off more than 200 salaried employees on Friday, as the automaker continues to reevaluate its businesses and cut costs to boost profits.
The impacted employees were largely Computer-Aided Design, or CAD, engineers who worked at the company’s global tech campus in metro Detroit, according to GM.

“We’re restructuring our design engineering team to strengthen our core architectural design engineering capabilities,” GM said in an emailed statement. “As a result, a number of CAD execution roles have been eliminated. We recognize the efforts and accomplishments of the impacted team members, and we thank them for their contributions.”
GM declined to comment on the number of employees affected, but a source familiar with the matter confirmed to CNBC that it was more than 200 employees, which was first reported by Bloomberg News. The person spoke anonymously because the number had not yet been made public.
The employees were told their roles were being eliminated due to “business conditions” and not their performance via Microsoft Teams calls on Friday, the source said.
The Detroit automaker has been regularly reviewing its business units and organizations for years in an effort to cut costs, boost profits and eliminate what it considers unneeded or overstaffed roles for future operations.
The most recent layoffs represent a small percentage of the automaker’s salaried workforce, but continue a trend of white-collar U.S. headcount reductions. GM’s U.S. salaried headcount fell from 53,000 in 2023 to 50,000 to end last year.

GM’s layoffs also come a day after all-electric vehicle maker Rivian laid off roughly 4.5% of its workforce, or more than 600 people, to restructure some teams as the EV market faces growing challenges amid policy changes and slower-than-expected demand.
The most recent cuts come as President Donald Trump touted on social media Friday that Ford Motor and GM are “UP BIG on Tariffs” amid tariff changes last week for heavy- and medium-duty trucks, which he referred to as “Big and Midsized Trucks.”
While both Ford and GM, including CEO Mary Barra, this week praised the tariff changes, which also included extending offsets on U.S.-produced vehicles, the automakers are still seeing additional cost burdens from the levies. These changes are simply helping to lower those added costs.
The layoffs come days after GM raised its 2025 financial guidance Tuesday as it beat Wall Street’s top- and bottom-line earnings expectations for the third quarter, causing the stock to have its second-best day on the market since its 2009 emergence from bankruptcy.
Shares of GM are up more than 29% this year, while Ford’s stock is up roughly 38%. Both hit new 52-week highs on Friday. More

Investment firms of the ultra-wealthy have adopted a bearish stance since President Donald Trump’s tariff announcement in April, according to a recent survey by RBC Wealth Management and Campden Wealth.
A majority of family offices said cash would offer the best return over the next 12 months, while a third said the same of artificial intelligence.
Though U.S. markets have rebounded to record highs since the spring, other top concerns from family offices remain, including around dollar depreciation and the private equity slowdown.

Compassionate Eye Foundation/david Oxberry | Digitalvision | Getty Images

A version of this article first appeared in CNBC’s Inside Wealth newsletter with Robert Frank, a weekly guide to the high-net-worth investor and consumer. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox.
Family offices have been investing with more caution since President Donald Trump’s tariff announcement in early April, according to a recent survey released by RBC Wealth Management and research firm Campden Wealth.

In a poll of 141 investment firms of ultra-wealthy families in North America, the majority (52%) of respondents said cash and other liquid assets would offer the best returns over the next 12 months. More than 30% said artificial intelligence would offer the best returns. Respondents could pick multiple answers.
In last year’s survey, growth equities and defense industries were the most popular choices, each tallying just under a third of respondents.
Family offices also lowered their expectations for 2025 returns, reporting an average expected portfolio return of 5% for the year, down from 11% in 2024. Fifteen percent of respondents said they expected negative returns, while nearly none did the year prior. The most popular investment priority for 2025 was improving liquidity, which was selected by nearly half of family offices. Last year’s top choice, at 34%, was portfolio diversification.
The survey was conducted from April through August. RBC Wealth Management’s Bill Ringham said that tariff-induced market turmoil and geopolitical tensions played a “pivotal role” in the pessimistic poll results.

While U.S. markets have rebounded to record highs since the spring, family offices still have other reasons to be bearish. A whopping 52% of survey respondents cited depreciation of the U.S. dollar as a likely market risk. The dollar has dropped by nearly 9% since the beginning of the year, and banks including UBS expect depreciation to continue.

The slowdown in exits for private equity and venture capital — a common complaint from family offices, per the report — continues to drag on. Nearly a quarter of respondents said private equity funds have not met their expected investment returns for 2025, and 15% said the same of private equity direct investments. Venture capital scored the lowest net sentiment, with 33% of respondents reporting unsatisfactory returns.
That said, family offices are flocking to cash not only to mitigate risk, but also to make opportunistic bets in the future, Ringham said.
“They’re taking a much longer vision of their legacy and their family,” said Ringham, who directs private wealth strategies for RBC’s U.S. arm. “By doing this, they’re probably creating the capital to take advantage of opportunities as they see them coming through in the market.”

Get Inside Wealth directly to your inbox

This cautious optimism can be seen in the respondents’ intended asset allocation changes, he said. Only a net 3% of family offices plan to increase their allocation to cash and liquid assets, compared to 20% for direct private equity investments, and 13% for private equity funds.
Investing in private markets is a necessity to create enough wealth to beat inflation and accommodate a growing family, Ringham said.
“When family offices are putting together portfolios, they’re obviously looking at time horizons that can last much longer than individuals that don’t have this type of legacy wealth. I mean, we’re looking at 100 years to 100 years plus,” he said. “If you’re taking the long view, even though you might realize that private equity hasn’t been performing that well over the past couple years, it’s still a place where historical returns might have exceeded returns that you might find elsewhere.”

Don’t miss these insights from CNBC PRO More

Procter & Gamble reported fiscal first-quarter earnings and revenue that beat Wall Street expectations.
CEO Jon Moeller noted a “challenging consumer and geopolitical environment.”
P&G is seeing a bifurcation in how consumers are shopping, based on their incomes, often described as a “K-shaped” economy.

Procter & Gamble on Friday reported fiscal first-quarter earnings and revenue that beat analysts’ expectations, lifted by higher demand for its beauty and grooming products.
Despite higher costs from tariffs and what CEO Jon Moeller called a “challenging consumer and geopolitical environment,” P&G reiterated its forecast for all-in sales and earnings for the fiscal year, which began in July.

Shares of the company rose 4% in premarket trading.
Here’s what the company reported for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:

Earnings per share: $1.99 adjusted vs. $1.90 expected
Revenue: $22.39 billion vs. $22.18 billion expected

P&G reported fiscal first-quarter net income attributable to the company of $4.75 billion, or $1.95 per share, up from $3.96 billion, or $1.61 per share, a year earlier.
Excluding items, including costs associated with incremental restructuring, the consumer giant earned $1.99 per share.
Net sales rose 3% to $22.39 billion. Organic sales, which strips out the impact of acquisitions, divestitures and foreign currency, increased 2% in the quarter

Though revenue metrics were higher, P&G’s volume was flat compared with the year-ago period. Volume excludes pricing, which makes it a more accurate reflection of demand than sales. Like many consumer companies, P&G has seen demand for some of its products fall as inflation-weary consumers seek out deals.

‘K-shaped’ shopping

“The consumer environment is not great, but stable,” CFO Andre Schulten said on a call with media, adding that shoppers have behaved similarly in the last few quarters.
In the United States, the company’s largest market, consumption across P&G’s broad swath of products has slowed “a little bit,” according to Schulten. Like Coca-Cola, P&G is seeing a bifurcation in how consumers are shopping, based on their incomes, often described as a “K-shaped” economy.
Shoppers who are less cash constrained are buying bigger pack sizes from mass and online retailers, Schulten said.
“That’s their way to look for value,” he said.
But U.S. consumers living paycheck to paycheck are looking to stretch their money further by using every bottle of detergent or shampoo to the last drop and exhausting their pantry inventory before shopping for more, according to Schulten.

Boxes of Tide Pods dishwasher detergent are displayed at a Costco Wholesale store on July 12, 2025 in San Diego, California.
Kevin Carter | Getty Images News | Getty Images

P&G reported Friday that volume for both its health care and fabric and home care divisions, which includes Tide and Swiffer, fell 2% during the quarter.
The company’s baby, feminine and family care segment reported flat volume for the quarter. That division includes brands like Pampers and Tampax.
P&G’s beauty business was a bright spot. The division, which includes brands like Olay and SK-II, reported volume growth of 4% and overall sales growth of 6%.
And P&G’s grooming business, which includes Gillette and Venus razors, saw volume rise 1% in the quarter for a sales increase of 5%.
For fiscal 2026, the company is now projecting that President Donald Trump’s tariffs will result in $400 million in after-tax costs, down from its prior outlook of $800 million. When P&G originally formulated its forecast, it had included retaliatory tariffs on Canada, which have since been rescinded. As a result, the company is now planning to raise prices less than expected, Moeller said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Friday morning.
However, Trump said on Thursday evening that he is terminating all trade talks with Canada over a TV ad, which could mean higher costs ahead for P&G.
P&G also reiterated its fiscal 2026 forecast of sales growth between 1% and 5% and earnings per share in the range of $6.83 to $7.09. More

Carmelo Anthony said that NBA stars feel the pressure from the rise of sports betting.
The Hall of Famer said gambling impacts how players are perceived by fans.
Anthony’s comments come after Portland Trailblazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier were separately arrested following investigations into alleged insider bets on basketball games.

Hall of Fame basketball player Carmelo Anthony said Thursday, in the wake of bombshell indictments detailing illegal NBA betting, that the rapid rise of sports gambling is putting growing pressure on today’s athletes.
Speaking with CNBC Sport, the former New York Knicks star said the betting culture “mentally affects” players.

“They may say they don’t care … but they care about it, because it affects them,” he said.
On Thursday, FBI Director Kash Patel announced Portland Trailblazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier were separately arrested following investigations into alleged insider bets on basketball games. Anthony was not involved in the case.
The 10-time NBA All-Star, who retired in 2023 and now works as a broadcaster for NBC, said he’s concerned about how gambling is “changing the narrative of the game.”
“Just because you bet on 25 points, and I got 22 points, now you look at me differently. Now I’m losing my skill set,” he said.
Anthony spoke to CNBC from Baltimore, Maryland, where he’s on hand for the opening of The House of Melo exhibit at the Enoch Pratt Free Library that will chronicle his career.

Anthony added that he expects consequences to follow the latest allegations.
“There needs to be some ramifications around what’s going on. I’m sure the powers that be are looking into that,” he said.
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal, which owns CNBC. Versant would become the new parent company of CNBC upon Comcast’s planned spinoff of Versant.

Get the CNBC Sport newsletter directly to your inbox

The CNBC Sport newsletter with Alex Sherman brings you the biggest news and exclusive interviews from the worlds of sports business and media, delivered weekly to your inbox.
Subscribe here to get access today. More

Ford Motor beat Wall Street’s third-quarter earnings expectations Thursday.
But the Detroit automaker lowered its 2025 guidance due to impacts of a fire at an aluminum supplier.

A Ford logo on a Ford F-150 pickup truck for sale in Encinitas, California, U.S. Oct. 20, 2025.
Mike Blake | Reuters

DETROIT – Ford Motor beat Wall Street’s third-quarter earnings expectations but lowered its 2025 guidance due to impacts of a supplier fire, which is disrupting production of its highly profitable large trucks and SUVs.
The Detroit automaker said the fire last month at a New York plant for aluminum supplier Novelis is expected to cost it between $1.5 billion and $2 billion, but it expects to mitigate much of that this year and next, largely by increasing manufacturing of the impacted vehicles once supplies are more available.

Ford stock initially fell during extended trading Thursday before swinging to being up roughly 4%. It closed at $12.34 per share Thursday and the stock is up 24% so far this year.
Ford said the total cost of the fire on its business is expected to be less than $1 billion by next year, as the company announced plans Thursday to “significantly increase” its U.S. pickup truck production. That includes adding 1,000 workers early next year to plants that produce the vehicles in Michigan and Kentucky.
The automaker expects the additional production next year to recoup about half of the 100,000 units it expects to lose due to the fire this year.
“We are working intensively with Novelis and others to source aluminum that can be processed in the cold rolling section of the plant that remains operational while also working to restore overall plant production. We have made substantial progress in a short time to minimize the impact in 2025 and recover production in 2026,” Ford CEO Jim Farley said in a statement.

Stock chart icon

Ford stock

Ford Chief Operating Officer Kumar Galhotra said the fire occurred in one of three main parts of the plant — a hot mill — with the non-impacted areas continuing to operate. The impacted part of the plant is expected to restart sooner than originally expected in late November or early December, he said.

Ford’s new 2025 guidance includes adjusted earnings before interest and taxes of $6 billion to $6.5 billion, down from $6.5 billion to $7.5 billion as of July; adjusted free cash flow of $2 billion to $3 billion, down from $3.5 billion to $4.5 billion, and capital spending of roughly $9 billion, which remains the same.
Ford CFO Sherry House said without the supplier fire, the company was planning to raise its 2025 guidance to more than $8 billion in adjusted EBIT rather than cutting it.
RBC Markets analyst Tom Narayan in a note Thursday called the guidance change “effectively” a raise, backing out the supplier fire and changes in tariff costs.
Ford lowered its expected tariff costs by $1 billion, to roughly $2 billion,  half of which the automaker expects to offset through other actions, due to changes Friday by the Trump administration that included exemption and extending tariff offsets on American-made vehicles.
Here’s what Wall Street expects, based on average analysts’ estimates compiled by LSEG:

Earnings per share: 45 cents adjusted vs. 36 cents expected
Automotive revenue: $47.19 billion vs. $43.08 billion expected

Ford said there was no material impact to third-quarter results due to the fire, but that it will impact its fourth-quarter results.
The company’s third-quarter revenue, including its financial arm, was $50.5 billion, a quarterly record and 9% increase from the same time a year ago. Its net income during the quarter was $2.4 billion, up from $900 million a year earlier, and adjusted earnings before interest and taxes were level at $2.6 billion. Both included adverse net tariff-related impact of $700 million during the third quarter.
Adjusted earnings exclude one-time or special items, some interest and taxes as well as other financials not considered “core” to the company’s operations. 
“Our performance in the quarter show that the Ford+ plan is delivering consistent improvement. Our underlying business becomes stronger, more efficient, more agile and increasingly durable,” House told media Thursday.
The Ford+ plan is a turnaround and cost-improvement plan under Farley, who started leading the automaker more than five years ago. The company said it remains on track to cut $1 billion in costs this year as part of the plan.
Ford’s third-quarter results were led by its “Pro” commercial and fleet business that reported EBIT results of nearly $2 billion, up $172 million from a year earlier. Its traditional operations, known as “Ford Blue” reported EBIT earnings of $1.54 billion, while its “Model e” electric vehicle business widened losses by $179 million compared with a year ago, to $1.41 billion. More

Disney began running public messages to YouTube TV subscribers warning them of a potential black out.
YouTube TV wants more favorable terms to carry Disney’s networks given its recent growth. YouTube TV has about 10 million subscribers.
Disney’s existing carriage deal with YouTube TV ends at 11:59 p.m. ET on October 30.
YouTube TV said it would offer subscribers a $20 credit if Disney’s networks are unavailable for a period of time.

ESPN and YouTube TV.
David Buono | Icon Sportswire | Jaque Silva | NurPhoto | Getty Images

Just a month after reaching an agreement with NBCUniversal to avoid dropping its networks, YouTube TV has another potential blackout on its hands — this time with Disney.
Disney said Thursday it would begin running public messages for YouTube TV subscribers to alert customers that the company’s networks, including ABC and ESPN, will be dropped from the service if the two sides can’t reach a new distribution agreement, which expires October 30 at 11:59 p.m. ET.

“This is the latest example of Google exploiting its position at the expense of their own customers,” a Disney spokesperson said in a statement. “If we don’t reach a fair deal soon, YouTube TV customers will lose access to ESPN and ABC, and all our marquee programming — including the NFL, college football, NBA and NHL seasons — and so much more.”
Disney began running public announcements on YouTube TV at 5 p.m. ET.
As with NBCUniversal, YouTube TV is asking for better rates for Disney’s programming, according to people familiar with the discussions. YouTube TV has about 10 million subscribers and wants more favorable terms given their scale, the people said.
“We’ve been working in good faith to negotiate a deal with Disney that pays them fairly for their content on YouTube TV,” a spokesperson for the service said in a statement. “Unfortunately, Disney is proposing costly economic terms that would raise prices on YouTube TV customers and give our customers fewer choices, while benefiting Disney’s own live TV products – like Hulu + Live TV and, soon, Fubo. Without an agreement, we’ll have to remove Disney’s content from YouTube TV and if it remains unavailable for an extended period of time, we will offer subscribers a $20 credit.”

Get the CNBC Sport newsletter directly to your inbox

The CNBC Sport newsletter with Alex Sherman brings you the biggest news and exclusive interviews from the worlds of sports business and media, delivered weekly to your inbox.
Subscribe here to get access today.

YouTube TV and NBCUniversal first reached a temporary extension to avoid a blackout before inking a finalized deal a few days later.

Two years ago, Disney reached an unusual distribution agreement with Charter, the largest U.S. pay TV provider by subscribers, that gave certain Charter subscribers access to Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ for no extra charge. Disney is willing to offer YouTube TV the same terms as that Charter agreement, two of the people said.
YouTube TV is again asking to ingest Disney’s streaming content, giving customers the ability to view programming on Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ without leaving the YouTube platform, according to a person familiar with the negotiations. YouTube TV also asked for this in its negotiations with NBCUniversal and was rejected. Similarly, Disney has no plans to say yes to this request, according to people familiar with the company’s thinking.
The clash between Disney and YouTube has an added element of conflict. YouTube hired away former Disney distribution executive Justin Connolly earlier this year, prompting Disney to file a breach of contract lawsuit. Connolly has recused himself from these discussions, according to the people familiar with the process.
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal, which owns CNBC. Versant would become the new parent company of CNBC upon Comcast’s planned spinoff of Versant. More

Rivian Automotive reportedly plans to lay off more than 600 people.
EV makers are facing a more challenging market amid changing regulations under the Trump administration.

A Rivian R1S electric vehicle (EV) at a dealership and service center in San Francisco, California, US, on Tuesday, June 3, 2025.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images

DETROIT – Rivian Automotive is laying off roughly 4.5% of its workforce as the all-electric vehicle maker faces growing market challenges, according to a note sent to employees Thursday and viewed by CNBC.
In the message, Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe said the cuts largely involved restructurings of its marketing, vehicle operations and sales/delivery and mobile operations teams.

“These are not changes that were made lightly. With the changing operating backdrop, we had to rethink how we are scaling our go-to-market functions. This news is challenging to hear, and the hard work and contributions of the team members who are leaving are greatly appreciated,” Scaringe said.
Rivian had just under 15,000 employees at the end of last year.
The note did not specify how many employees would be laid off. The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the plans, said the layoffs would affect more than 600 workers, which a source familiar with the plans confirmed to CNBC. The person spoke anonymously because the news had not yet been made public.
Rivian and other EV manufacturers are increasingly facing a more challenging market than they did in recent years amid changing regulations under the Trump administration, including the elimination of a $7,500 federal incentive for purchasing an EV.
Aside from regulatory issues, Rivian also faces slower-than-expected EV demand and a lack of new products until next year amid needs for cash and earnings losses. The company lost $1.1 billion during the second quarter.

Scaringe, in the Thursday note, said the changes will ensure the company “can deliver on our potential by scaling efficiently towards building a healthy and profitable business,” as it prepares to launch its new R2 models, which are expected to begin production next year.
Rivian’s vehicle sales increased 32% to 13,201 units year over year during the third quarter as buyers hurried to purchase an EV before the federal incentives expired at the end of September, but the company’s 2025 delivery forecast was narrowed from as many as 46,000 units to between 41,500 and 43,500 vehicles.
In August, Rivian also flagged a bigger adjusted core loss this year, expecting it to between $2 billion and $2.25 billion, compared with $1.7 billion to $1.9 billion previously forecast.
Shares of Rivian closed Thursday at $13.09, up 1.3%. The stock is off less than 2% this year. More

Target said Thursday that it’s cutting 1,800 roles across the company, or roughly 8% of its corporate workforce.
It marks the largest round of layoffs at the company in a decade.
The retailer is fighting to get back to growth and poised to get a new CEO in February.

A Target logo is displayed outside one of their stores on August 2, 2025 in San Diego, California.
Kevin Carter | Getty Images

Target said on Thursday it’s cutting 1,800 corporate jobs as the retailer tries to get back to growth after four years of roughly stagnant sales.
It marks the first major round of layoffs in a decade for the Minneapolis-based retailer. It announced the layoffs in a memo sent by Target’s incoming CEO Michael Fiddelke to employees at its headquarters.

The eliminated roles are a combination of about 1,000 employee layoffs and about 800 positions that will no longer be filled, a company spokesman said. Together, they represent an approximately 8% cut to Target’s corporate workforce, according to the memo. Affected employees will be notified Tuesday.
The retailer announced the cuts as it nears a leadership change.
Target in August named Fiddelke, currently its chief operating officer and formerly chief financial officer, as the successor to longtime leader Brian Cornell. He takes the helm February 1.
Fiddelke has also overseen the Enterprise Acceleration Office, an effort announced in May, which looked for ways to simplify company operations, use technology in new ways and speed up Target’s growth. 
Target has been fighting a sales slump, as it tries to rebound from declining store traffic, inventory troubles and customer backlash. The company has said it expects annual sales to decline this year.

Its shares have fallen by 65% since their all-time high in late 2021.
Compared to retail competitors, Target draws less of its overall sales from groceries and other necessities, which can make its business more vulnerable to the ups and downs of the economy and consumer sentiment. About half of Target’s sales come from discretionary items, compared to only 40% at Walmart, according to estimates from GlobalData Retail.
As a result of that and other company-specific challenges, Target’s sales trends and stock performance have diverged sharply from competitors. Shares of Walmart are up about 123% in the past five years, compared to Target’s decline of 41% during the same time period.
In a memo sent Thursday to employees at Target’s headquarters, Fiddelke said the employee cuts will help Target make urgent changes.
“The truth is, the complexity we’ve created over time has been holding us back,” he said in the memo. “Too many layers and overlapping work have slowed decisions, making it harder to bring ideas to life.”
He said the cuts are difficult, but “a necessary step in building the future of Target and enabling the progress and growth we all want to see.”   
Target employees affected by the layoffs will receive pay and benefits until January 3, in addition to severance packages, according to a company spokesman. No roles in stores or in Target’s supply chain were impacted by the cuts, the company spokesman said.
Read the full memo from Fiddelke:

Team, 
This spring, we launched our enterprise acceleration efforts with a clear ambition: to move faster and simplify how we work to drive Target’s next chapter of growth. The truth is, the complexity we’ve created over time has been holding us back. Too many layers and overlapping work have slowed decisions, making it harder to bring ideas to life. 
On Tuesday, we’ll share changes to our headquarters structure as an important step in accelerating how we work. This includes eliminating about 1,800 non-field roles — about 8% of our global HQ team. As we make these changes, I’m asking all U.S. HQ team members to work from home next week. Target in India and our other global teams will follow their in-office routines. 
Decisions that affect our team are the most significant ones we make, and we never make them lightly. I know the real impact this has on our team, and it will be difficult. And, it’s a necessary step in building the future of Target and enabling the progress and growth we all want to see.   
Adjusting our structure is one part of the work ahead of us. It will also require new behaviors and sharper priorities that strengthen our retail leadership in style and design and enable faster execution so we can: 

Lead with merchandising authority; 

Elevate the guest experience with every interaction; and 

Accelerate technology to enable our team and delight our guests. 

Put together, these changes set the course for our company to be stronger, faster and better positioned to serve guests and communities for many years to come. 
Michael  More