GM has explicitly tied its recent drive to close more United States and Canadian plants (a sticking point in the strike) to this "green" plan. According to a recent Wall Street Journal article : "The closed factories are the most visible sign of GM Chief Executive Mary Barra's focus on redirecting capital to develop electric and driverless cars, capital-intensive bets with an uncertain payoff. GM plans 20 new electric models, mostly in China, over the next few years, funded in part by the plant closures and other moves aimed at boosting cash flow by $6 billion a year."