This is the lesson for GM workers, many of whom were taken by surprise because the company overall has been doing well, at least until Washington slapped tariffs on imported aluminum and steel that will cost GM an estimated $1 billion this year. The problem was that the overall picture obscured a sharp drop-off in sales of sedans, including the Chevrolet Cruze sedans assembled at the Lordstown, Ohio plant GE plans to "unallocate" next year. Cruze unit sales are down 26 percent this year, and sales of Chevrolet's bigger Impala sedan, also hit by layoffs, are down 13 percent. People who make those products are going to be on the street, notwithstanding GM's 50 percent-plus stock climb from early 2016 until this June. "If I'm a GM competitor working on a similar product, I want to do my homework and read beneath the headlines," Dobroski said.