Big GM shakeup...
 

30,000 jobs to be lost...and just before the holidays. How thoughtful...:rolleyes:

http://money.cnn.com/2005/11/21/news/fortune500/gm_cuts/index.htm?cnn=yes

About goddamn time.

Now if only I could convince the executive staff at my corp to take the same steps...

Did they really have a choice?

E

wow

I dont know if they had a choice or not but its sad either way.

On the one hand, I'm glad GM has taken these steps to save itself.

On the other hand, I'm sad to see more manufacturing jobs leave the U.S.

dd74, exactly how many GM cars do you own?

Layoffs happen when a company produces crappy cars that nobody but fleet companies buy. Do you expect GM to pay those 30,000 workers to twiddle their thumbs all day?

Besides, I'm sure they're getting a severance package that will get them past the holidays.

Well, I'm sure Superman will chime in, but I believe "twiddle their thumbs all day" is language directly from the work rules specified in their UAW contract. ;)

How many GM cars I own has nothing to do with anything. But thanks for your commentary, Mr. Scrooge.

Merry Xmas. :rolleyes:

Quote from article:

"The company's contract with the United Auto Workers union essentially prevents layoffs before it expires in September 2007, as the company needs to pay union members whether or not there is a job for them."

I guess my comment above is true!!! No wonder the company is swimming in red ink. Union contracts will be the ruin of GM, just like all the US airlines and steel companies. When more work needs to be done, you hire more employees. When less work needs to be done, you have to lay people off. Christmas or not, this is life. Unions prevent this simple truth and sink companies. Poor GM, what a sad relic of a once-prosperous business who once produced some of the world's best cars.

Jay - do you blame the unions, or the individuals that have no choice but to be in the unions, if they want a job?

But you're correct about the "relic" comment. In the next 20 yrs. I see all unions being a thing of the past in major manufacturing...

This is getting really tiring:

That's found at the end of the article.

The media wants to lambaste GM. Why do we let them? Better yet, why do we listen to them? Money has NO clue what GM is beyond their financial figures, nor do they care. :rolleyes:

The American public does this, too. If they don't close plants, then GM execs are the epitome of inefficient management and "we shouldn't support that." If they do close due to overcapacity (because the sheeple let magazines tell them what to buy), then management is a bunch of heartless b@$tards...right before the holidays, of course the media slips that one in. Gimme a freakin' break. :rolleyes:

Few realize this, but they're actually closing the highest-quality assembly plant in all of North America. Better than the Toyotas, Mercedes, Nissans, everyone. That move is beyond me, but it shows how the public and the media are making a sport of rejecting GM, and it shows the steps they're having to take.

The American public, GM management, and the UAW did this. Sad to see what was once THE symbol of American business, THE world corporation even, crumble this way. For those who applaud it and think it's capitalism or Darwin at work, I say wait for what happens when Asia overpowers us, when we have no home companies to reinvest their money here.

The Big Two can't be taken for granted anymore. It's seriously time to stop kicking them while they are down. They do not build crap cars, contrary to what some say. If anybody builds a mediocre car and pushes it as the %^&*, it's Toyota. That's the new arrogant company in the marketplace, the one who can't make a mistake in the public's eyes.

It's a long, slippery ride downhill for GM and, I suppose, for America coming up. The two are tied together more than most Americans think. Sad to see...

I blame the unions themselves. That workers are forced to join a union to get a job should be illegal.

Unions were necessary 100 years ago to make workplaces safe and hours reasonable. Now we have laws and lawsuits for that, and a union's only purpose is to play havoc with our free market labor system. Messing with this system makes unionized companies globally uncompetitive, thus making huge layoffs like this necessary.

Ever wonder what happened to our steel industry? Manufacturing of all sorts? Our auto industry is going the same way.

Does anyone know if Toyota or Honda factories in the US are unionized?

No, none of the 'foreign' auto makers building cars in the U.S. have UAW in their plants

E

False.

Honda is unionized. Toyota is not.

Earlier you mentioned GM's crappy cars. Which do you feel has/had a greater effect on GM's position?

Not attacking anyone, just interested in opinions.

E

Does Honda have the UAW, same as GM, in their Ohio plants, or is it a different union?

E

My bad, Mazda is unionized, Honda is not. Have been since the 80's.

But Mazda is 100% Ford now, anyway, are they not?

Oh, and NUMMI is unionized, which is joint Toyota/GM. I suspect Toyota did it just to figure out how (not) to deal with unions...

Mitsubishi is UAW.

Mazda's plants here in the U.S. are Ford plants, regardless of how you view Mazda's 'ownership'. Some Mazdas are still built in Japan.

E

And Mitsubishi was owned by Daimler-Chrysler until just weeks ago. It makes sense that they are UAW.

E