GM CEO sees more job cuts in 2007

[OhioChick]

Friday, January 05, 2007

Detroit, Jan 05: General Motors Corp. will cut more jobs in 2007 as it closes plants and tries to wrench more concessions from its major union in contract negotiations, Chief Executive Rick Wagoner said on Thursday.

GM, which lost USD 10.6 billion in 2005, cut more than 34,000 jobs, unveiled plans to close 12 plants and reduce recurring costs by USD 9 billion in 2006. Wagoner said more limited job cuts were possible in 2007.

"I don't rule out continued steps," CEO Wagoner told reporters when asked about further cuts in 2007. "I think it'll be a lot more through attrition than buyouts, but I wouldn't rule it out."

"You won't see major chunks ... but there is going to be a continued need to improve productivity, to be competitive and to cover things like health-care costs," he added.
http://www.zeenews.com/articles.asp?aid=345976&ssid=51&sid=BUS

[acmavm]

1. They're getting rid of people at the wrong end of the job chain.

If they got rid of some of these executives, they'd be better off. Maybe they'd feel the need to design something decent, competetive, and environmentally friendly. In a price range that the average American can afford (30,000+ dollars for a car is ridiculous.)

[luckyleftyme2]

3. WE NEED TO LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD

IF WE DON'T WAKE UP AND GET NATIONAL HEALTH-CARE WE'RE GOING TO LOSE ALL OUR MANUFACTURING PLANTS,AND THIS SEEMS TO BE OUR ENEMIES AGENDA!

[dbt]

2. The number one growth industry in Amerika is Job Cuts.

Damn. If this economy gets much better, it's going to kill us all!

:evilgrin:
dbt
Remember New Orleans

[HughBeaumont]

4. "to cover things like health-care costs" . . .

. . . and their 9 figure salaries, bonuses, option packages, perks, etc, etc, etc.

Because they had a hand in getting GM to the astonishing position it's in now . .. oh wait, is that a Toyota I hear beeping?

[Triana]

5. Why don't they just shut down and go already?

They don't make any products that are worth a damn - just gas-guzzling monstrosities and boring, 20th century vehicles that lack innovation and acceptable operating standards (ie: fuel-efficient/alternative fuels/energy sources).

The people who work for them have no job security and they're cutting their benefits every freakin week. I'd hate to see all of them without work but they need to move on and frankly, so does GM.

They cut my Mom's retirement benefits almost weekly. She sits on pins and needles waiting for them to yank it out from under her, which they undoubtely will, eventually.

And WHO to blame for their condition? NOT the workers, certainly, but the MANAGEMENT. The company is poorly managed, refuses to evolve itself or its products and THAT is their problem - they're regressively managed with last-millenium strategies that we know DON'T work.

[Kolesar]

7. They cut my Mom's retirement benefits almost weekly. --please elaborate--eom

[Triana]

9. health insurance...

...they're always diddling with it. Reducing coverage, increasing deductibles and co-pays. She's on a damned fixed income.

[Kolesar]

11. wow

I am sorry to hear that. My mother still has retiree benefits from a steel company and they have not done anything like that.

[HughBeaumont]

8. Management's fault = workers will ALWAYS pay the price.

Until someone fixes this, corporate America will forever be a voluntary prison.

[Psephos]

13. The blame game is easy, isn't it?

But it is counterproductive in the extreme. Global realities have made the parlor game of worker vs. management obsolete and self-destructive.

Unions and management both had a share in GM's decline. Unions demanded pay, benefits and work rules that aren't sustainable in a world economy. Management kicked the can down the road time after time, paying attention to next quarter's profits and next year's shareholder meeting. Result: American automakers have labor costs that are double those of the Asians. It takes stunning chutzpah to think that makes no difference. Meanwhile, the product mix is not optimized for today's high oil prices, and the SUV bubble is over. SUVs are high-profit vehicles, and the profits from them hid a lot of structural problems for a long time.

The shareholders have lost major value. The workers have seen their jobs disappear by the tens of thousands. Management has been downsized past the fat and into the bone. The best and the brightest no longer want to go into an industry that not only shot itself in the foot, but emptied the magazine. Who can blame them? But without the best and brightest, can US car makers innovate their way out of this mess?

I'm from a GM family. Shame on those who delight in its demise. Politics can make a person just as blind as religion can. Support American industry - it's the progressive thing to do.

Peace.

[luckyleftyme2]

14. THATS NOT TRUE

I DISAGREE WITH YOUR POST. HEALTH-CARE IS BREAKING ALL AMERICA,NOT ONLY BUSINESS WHICH IS SHEDDING IT BUT THE WORKER WHO IS BEING SWAMPED WITH HIGH PREMIUMS.!

[raccoon]

6. Why not cut his effing job? Or hire somebody from India who'll

do it for a fraction of his salary?

I should live so long!

[VegasWolf]

10. GM could hire 3,000 employees if he'd give up a third of his salary! His brain must

hurt from all the heavy thinking he has to do. :nopity:

[Beaverhausen]

12. Anyone know how big his bonus was this year?

These days, steering your company to a 10 billion dollar loss gets you a HUGE bonus. :crazy: