GM to lay off 3,500 at truck, SUV factories

[rebeccajo 14]

Seriously though, the biggest problem the US had was not changing the emphasis from large, fuel guzzling but powerful and fun cars to small and mid sized fuel efficient cars after the 1970's. Japan and Germany did, so they now have the more marketable product globally. The Unions can't be blamed for the manufacturer's decisions regarding what product lines to manufacture.

You know what? As I've watched the size of vehicles on the road get bigger and bigger and bigger for, oh the last decade at least, I've been wondering how and why this happened.

Its like both the auto industry and the public had forgotten entirely about gas shortages that had occurred really not all that long ago.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Seriously though, the biggest problem the US had was not changing the emphasis from large, fuel guzzling but powerful and fun cars to small and mid sized fuel efficient cars after the 1970's. Japan and Germany did, so they now have the more marketable product globally. The Unions can't be blamed for the manufacturer's decisions regarding what product lines to manufacture.

You know what? As I've watched the size of vehicles on the road get bigger and bigger and bigger for, oh the last decade at least, I've been wondering how and why this happened.

Its like both the auto industry and the public had forgotten entirely about gas shortages that had occurred really not all that long ago.

Me too. I think part of it the 'bigger is better' mentality....even the portions in most restaurants have increased to gynormous proportions.

[mawilson 2,133]

Me too. I think part of it the 'bigger is better' mentality....even the portions in most restaurants have increased to gynormous proportions.

The rising food and gas prices will take care of both problems.

[Donna A 4]

lets see...lets wipe out the middle class and have the rich and the poor. im glad to see all of u are experts on the uaw.

i happen to be a united states auto worker and in the last 15 years i have never "just screwed in a bolt" for $35.00/hour!!! lets start 20 years ago...i worked at a plastic factory with no union running one press for $8.00/hour....fast forward to now...i run 15 molding machines now making $18.00/hour!!! yes 15 times the amount i was running 20 years ago for only double the wages!!!! one year ago i was making the $35 u all talk about, but because of the delphi bankruptsy i was cut 40%. Was my $35/hour really what bankrupted the company or was the real reason is because our CEO's and upper managament making millions a year to blame. only $1,500 a car is due to my wages....how much of that car price is due to the CEO's and upper management wages to blame?

we do not sit on our asses and drink coffee like everyone out there thinks. get a life!!! everyone wants to blame the low man on the totam pole for their problems and thats the way its always been and will always be.

i will tell u...i drive a 2008 grand prix (what $20,000 car) and my husband is driving a 2008 BMW (a $40,000 car). my car has more options and is a hell of alot bigger for half the price. if us pathetic over paid auto workers who r ruining the world and the company are to blame why are we so much cheaper then the others!!!! u should be proud we can produce a car for less money then the german cars.

ohhhh if u really knew how hard we do work at GM u would be ashamed of urselves.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

lets see...lets wipe out the middle class and have the rich and the poor. im glad to see all of u are experts on the uaw.

i happen to be a united states auto worker and in the last 15 years i have never "just screwed in a bolt" for $35.00/hour!!! lets start 20 years ago...i worked at a plastic factory with no union running one press for $8.00/hour....fast forward to now...i run 15 molding machines now making $18.00/hour!!! yes 15 times the amount i was running 20 years ago for only double the wages!!!! one year ago i was making the $35 u all talk about, but because of the delphi bankruptsy i was cut 40%. Was my $35/hour really what bankrupted the company or was the real reason is because our CEO's and upper managament making millions a year to blame. only $1,500 a car is due to my wages....how much of that car price is due to the CEO's and upper management wages to blame?

we do not sit on our asses and drink coffee like everyone out there thinks. get a life!!! everyone wants to blame the low man on the totam pole for their problems and thats the way its always been and will always be.

i will tell u...i drive a 2008 grand prix (what $20,000 car) and my husband is driving a 2008 BMW (a $40,000 car). my car has more options and is a hell of alot bigger for half the price. if us pathetic over paid auto workers who r ruining the world and the company are to blame why are we so much cheaper then the others!!!! u should be proud we can produce a car for less money then the german cars.

ohhhh if u really knew how hard we do work at GM u would be ashamed of urselves.

The truth is a wonderful thing.

[kaydee457 13]

lets see...lets wipe out the middle class and have the rich and the poor. im glad to see all of u are experts on the uaw.

i happen to be a united states auto worker and in the last 15 years i have never "just screwed in a bolt" for $35.00/hour!!! lets start 20 years ago...i worked at a plastic factory with no union running one press for $8.00/hour....fast forward to now...i run 15 molding machines now making $18.00/hour!!! yes 15 times the amount i was running 20 years ago for only double the wages!!!! one year ago i was making the $35 u all talk about, but because of the delphi bankruptsy i was cut 40%. Was my $35/hour really what bankrupted the company or was the real reason is because our CEO's and upper managament making millions a year to blame. only $1,500 a car is due to my wages....how much of that car price is due to the CEO's and upper management wages to blame?

we do not sit on our asses and drink coffee like everyone out there thinks. get a life!!! everyone wants to blame the low man on the totam pole for their problems and thats the way its always been and will always be.

i will tell u...i drive a 2008 grand prix (what $20,000 car) and my husband is driving a 2008 BMW (a $40,000 car). my car has more options and is a hell of alot bigger for half the price. if us pathetic over paid auto workers who r ruining the world and the company are to blame why are we so much cheaper then the others!!!! u should be proud we can produce a car for less money then the german cars.

ohhhh if u really knew how hard we do work at GM u would be ashamed of urselves.

The way I understand it is that's it's not your wages that's problematic to the survival of your company, although it's certainly part of it, but rather a lot of benefits negotiated through collective bargaining, that's breaking these companies and putting them at a disadvantage to automakers that have no unions, such as Toyota facilities here in the USA.

GM, Ford, and Chrysler are buckling under the cost of exorbitant retirement benefits, paid to multiple generations of retirees through pension plans, and the most costly is the Medical Benefit.

Additionally, somewhere along the line union advocacy to protect their members morphed into obstructionism and workplace rules that stymied productivity.

Others mentioned previously in this thread the frustrating inability of the company to weed out workers that don't perform because of senority.

It's no surprise that the AFLCIO, and labor unions in general have been shrinking in membership for years as more and more workers opt for no union representation.

[Heracles 417]

Well, that's one way of looking at it. However, if another country can produce the same or similar goods significantly cheaper because they don't have to pay like for like wages I think the chances are the industry is ###### regardless of protectionism. What the US used to have was the ability to get raw materials at very low prices and little to no competition. Things change.

That's where you're wrong. Impose high tariffs on car imports and the industry is going to be just fine.

They already tried that. Actually this exact move, in the past, is what helped build toyota, honda etc into such great auto manufacturers.

[Ban Hammer 13,083]

lets see...lets wipe out the middle class and have the rich and the poor. im glad to see all of u are experts on the uaw.

i happen to be a united states auto worker and in the last 15 years i have never "just screwed in a bolt" for $35.00/hour!!! lets start 20 years ago...i worked at a plastic factory with no union running one press for $8.00/hour....fast forward to now...i run 15 molding machines now making $18.00/hour!!! yes 15 times the amount i was running 20 years ago for only double the wages!!!! one year ago i was making the $35 u all talk about, but because of the delphi bankruptsy i was cut 40%. Was my $35/hour really what bankrupted the company or was the real reason is because our CEO's and upper managament making millions a year to blame. only $1,500 a car is due to my wages....how much of that car price is due to the CEO's and upper management wages to blame?

we do not sit on our asses and drink coffee like everyone out there thinks. get a life!!! everyone wants to blame the low man on the totam pole for their problems and thats the way its always been and will always be.

i will tell u...i drive a 2008 grand prix (what $20,000 car) and my husband is driving a 2008 BMW (a $40,000 car). my car has more options and is a hell of alot bigger for half the price. if us pathetic over paid auto workers who r ruining the world and the company are to blame why are we so much cheaper then the others!!!! u should be proud we can produce a car for less money then the german cars.

ohhhh if u really knew how hard we do work at GM u would be ashamed of urselves.

2 chevys and 1 pontiac, all gm, downstairs here

[natty bumppo 289]

GM said the exact number of layoffs will be worked out with its unions. Workers will get unemployment benefits and supplemental pay that total 80 percent of their normal 40-hour gross pay, said GM spokesman Dan Flores.

cry me a freaking river ... learn to deal and move on like those who are less fortunate ...

[Donna A 4]

i would like to add. in the plant where i work there are 3 supervisors for 20 people. these supervisors are making about $150,000 a year!!!! for what, they are not production they are just dead weight. how is this smart? ive never in my live worked anywhere that a supervisor made $100,000 more then the production people...maybe a few dollars more an hour but not that much. theres where GM's wasted money goes. not on the little $35/hour people..but on dead weight. ive seen my bosses houses...they are living in brand new 300,000 houses with brand new hummer and mustangs in the garage...oh if they dont feel like choosing between the two lets just blow the day off and take the 36ft boat out on the lake.

Gms problems are not the $35/hr. workers but mis- managing the money.

our benifits are no better then anyone elses. i needed orthotics for my shoes...they were not covered...thank God my husbands paid part of them. i pay 100% of my office visits...my husband pays $15.00/ visit. trust me...we dont have it as easy as the papers want to report. 20 years ago i had my daughter and didnt pay a dime of it(before i worked at gm) but my cousin who was working at gm paid $700.00 of her labor and delivery. where are these great heath care the uaw negotiated? as far as retirement...u get about half of ur wages ask what ur state and teachers get when they retire...far more then half!!!

lets not forget...toyota does not pay there exuctives millions and millions a year where gm does. yeah makes foreign car manfacturars a little more competative then gm also when u are not overpaying ur ceo's and top dogs.

lets look at the whole picture and not just the $35/hr people. the unions are not to blame for all the problems. they are just the small percentage of the problem.

[Donna A 4]

GM said the exact number of layoffs will be worked out with its unions. Workers will get unemployment benefits and supplemental pay that total 80 percent of their normal 40-hour gross pay, said GM spokesman Dan Flores.

cry me a freaking river ... learn to deal and move on like those who are less fortunate ...

and why was this negotiated? to keep jobs in the united states. u wont move jobs out if u have to pay people 80 percent of their wages just to sit at home doing nothing!!!

who's crying? the worker sitting at home making 80% or GM? im sure not complaining so where do u get off saying to deal with it and move on like those less fortunate? tell Gm to stop moving jobs out and they wont have to pay 80%!!! stop blaming the union for trying to keep jobs here by putting pressure on GM!!!

there u go...blaming the low man on the totum pole saying we are crying over getting 80%. were not the ones complaining over it....GM is!!! put blame where blame is due!!! if Gm were stupid enough to agree to this then dont blame the average worker for taking it. u would take it too if offered and if u didnt u would be stupid not too. i dont hear anyone here saying...oh please dont give me 80% of my wages if im layed off. i only deserve 50 like everyone else.

[Heracles 417]

ohhhh if u really knew how hard we do work at GM u would be ashamed of urselves.

I don't think the work ethic of the person on the production line is being questioned. What is an issue is unions demands. The unions need to be flexible. The unions need to hold the workers they support accountable. The unions demand X plants be open or x shifts be kept. This is simply not feasible or realistic. We blame management but for a long time the unions did not permit ford of gm to import cars from other divisions abroad. I mean look at the new pontiac G8 from the GMH division in Australia. You realize that this car actually outsells 'both' the Camry and Accord there; the two best selling sedans here. Ford also has a killer sedan in Australia. The Ford Falcon. Yes they still manufacture that there and it is a great car.

The union isn't the only group to blame but they have done their part. It is not even about pay. Now I do agree that a lot of the problems with companies like GM and Ford is the failure of the management teams. I see it at my work. Too many daddy paid, I know everything, degree holders and not enough common sense. How long did the management of Ford and GM think they can produce cars people don't want instead of giving the consumer what they want. Only now they finally seem to get it. I mean the engineering of the cars, their interior etc of pre 2006 cars here is #######. Hard plastic dashes etc.. Chrysler still does not get it. They cut back on research and development and thought the truck would live forever.

Edited April 30, 2008 by Boo-Yah!

[kaydee457 13]

GM posts 3.3B loss on weak sales

GM LOSS

[Heracles 417]

GM posts 3.3B loss on weak sales

GM LOSS

cough cough

DETROIT - General Motors Corp. struggled to a $3.3 billion first-quarter loss, due in part to a weak U.S. market, a strike at a major parts supplier and plummeting sales of sport utility vehicles and pickups.

[Peikko 1,575]

DETROIT - General Motors Corp. struggled to a $3.3 billion first-quarter loss, due in part to a weak U.S. market, a strike at a major parts supplier and plummeting sales of sport utility vehicles and pickups.

Edited April 30, 2008 by Purple_Hibiscus