General Motors on Tuesday reported an 18.5 percent drop in profits in the first quarter, mainly because of the cost of job cuts and slowing new-vehicle sales in China. The company also announced that it would build a fourth battery factory in the United States.The decline comes as higher interest rates raise the cost of new vehicles for consumers and worries persist about a possible recession in the United States.G.M. said its net income in the first three months of the year fell to $2.4 billion, from $2.9 billion in the same period in 2022. Revenue in the first quarter rose 11 percent, to $40 billion, thanks to higher prices and effective discounting.“The first quarter came in ahea …
