19,000 more, now they have approx. 74,000 left wow. What, back in 85 they boasted 250.000?

They will replace some with lower paid workers. I would like to know what that pay looks like; cut health care and/or pay, or more hours per man? I would like to match that with what the Toyota or Honda folks here get.

Either way, there it is.
I think there are NO innocent parties here- mgt. for mismanagement re: model lines, mgt. for acquiescing back in the day to UAW demands, workers for convincing themselves they deserved the salary and benefits they have accrued etc.

Frankly, it’s depressing.


GM says 19,000 U.S. factory workers take buyouts By Kevin Krolicki
12 minutes ago



DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Corp (GM.N) said on Thursday about 19,000 U.S. factory workers -- just over a quarter of its American blue-collar work force -- had taken buyout offers to leave the automaker.

GM is under increasing pressure to cut costs in the face of weak U.S. sales and high gas prices, and analysts said the struggling automaker would have to quickly move beyond sweeping hourly job cuts by slashing production, eliminating white-collar jobs and trimming other costs.

All of GM's roughly 74,000 U.S. factory workers had been eligible for early retirement packages and buyouts intended to clear the way for hires of lower-wage workers under a deal negotiated last year with the United Auto Workers union.

"Despite significant challenges in the U.S. market, we continue to reshape our business for long-term success," Troy Clarke, GM's president of North American operations, said in a statement.

Like other Detroit-based automakers, GM has been hit hard by a U.S. auto market that has declined by a wider margin than expected and by a faster move by consumers away from gas-guzzling trucks and SUVs due to record gas prices.

GM's U.S. sales have dropped by almost 12 percent through April, a month that saw the industry's weakest sales in a decade. Analysts expect May sales to be as weak or weaker, with an even sharper drop in sales of more profitable trucks.

The weakening market has prompted Ford Motor Co (F.N) to ready plans to cut white-collar jobs this summer and expectations are building that GM Chief Executive Rick Wagoner will use next week's annual meeting to unveil further cost-cutting steps.

"These restructuring plans look aggressive when they're announced, but it turns out that they're not aggressive enough," Argus Research analyst Kevin Tynan said. "The market is moving much faster than these restructuring plans are."

GM said most of the UAW-represented workers taking buyouts and early retirement offers, which ranged up to $140,000 in one-time payouts, would leave the company by July 1.

The acceptance rate for the cost-cutting program was lower than a similar offer GM made in 2006 for its union workers and broadly in line with expectations. More than 34,000 GM workers accepted similar buyouts in 2006.

UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said in February he expected fewer than 20,000 GM workers to accept buyouts.

GM, like Ford Motor Co (F.N) and privately held Chrysler LLC, reached an agreement with the UAW that allows it to hire new workers for some jobs starting at $14 per hour, or about half the current average hourly wage.

GM said it would fill openings with existing workers where possible but would also hire new UAW-represented workers at that lower wage rate at plants where more workers are needed.

JP Morgan analyst Himanshu Patel said the buyout acceptance rate at GM was higher than he expected and could save up to $2 billion annually as the automaker cuts production.

But in a note for clients, he also said GM could take other steps that might include eliminating its dividend, salaried jobs and slower-selling truck-based models.

Ford saw about 4,200 UAW workers take a company-wide buyout offer. The No. 2 U.S. automaker, which last week abandoned its forecast for a return to profitability in 2009, is making plant-by-plant offers available in a bid to cut costs further.

GM shares touched a 27-year low this week. They rose 1.3 percent on Thursday in New York Stock Exchange trade, but have dropped 25 percent since GM reported first-quarter earnings on April 30.

GM says 19,000 U.S. factory workers take buyouts - Yahoo! News




And one point on the social aspect of this- today’s $100,000 buy out will in all likely hood be tomorrows disgruntled worker who complains that the jobs have all gone, hence off shoring and big biz kicked their ass into the street and they have taken a job at McDonald’s, bet on it.

__________________
No individual can plan his own existence in their view.

So the state planners must arrogate to themselves the right to manipulate any sector of the economic system if the good of “society” or the “general welfare” is paramount.

Ipso- if the rights of the individual get in the way, the rights of the individual must be sublimated.

The Road to Serfdom
FA Hayek (interpretation)


Mortgage Backed Security survivor

I just noticed this on Etrade. Good news for my Ford stock.

__________________
Weiner.

basically unions are worthless, about the only ones that have any power left is in the construction trades.
And it is the fault of previous workers greed and laziness that lead to their own demise (unfortunately a repeating trend in the last 30 years)
My father worked for GM as well as most of my neighbors fathers...my dad went to work every day, rarely missed even got employee of the year several times (and back then the plant had almost 2000 workers...today I think there is about 900)...however he was certainly not the norm. The neighbor across the street was an alcoholic to the nth degree, he was sent home intoxicated a billion times, went in late constantly...he was fired that I remember at least 20 times, always went to the union hall and got his job back.
Then there was a guy named Todd...whacko...he skipped work once a week if not more...fired probably once a month..got his job back every time.
Yet so many of these guys were paid a good double what non-union shops were paid, and worked half as hard you can bet.

And now?...GM has SERIOUS pension and retiree insurance problems...a problem Toyota does not have.

Oh - and like Ford...the "new hires" will start less than half what those that left...the Ford plant in my town is closing next month, once had - I believe 1400 employees...they did a buyout about 10 years ago or so, the plant changed it's name to "Visteon" and hired new people at $9 per hour with half the benefits....they still didn't make it.

yup, its one thing to bargain and its another to take someone’s teeth out. Mgt. is culpable too.

Once the genie was out of the bottle re; Mexican plants and off-shoring actually off shores, well, here they were and there they went. Did the UAW ever stop to think that this was counter productive? Nope. Not even at $9 an hour...

Hey, I have an idea, why don't we have tariffs in place so our vehicles cost more in other countries than others do? yea that will work....

__________________
No individual can plan his own existence in their view.

So the state planners must arrogate to themselves the right to manipulate any sector of the economic system if the good of “society” or the “general welfare” is paramount.

Ipso- if the rights of the individual get in the way, the rights of the individual must be sublimated.

The Road to Serfdom
FA Hayek (interpretation)


Mortgage Backed Security survivor

Oh but my friend the "wasp" (I love that term) - have made $millions off the cheaper labor...and as long as they keep the brei and Chablis flowing and pay off our "representatives" - this will continue until America is much like Mexico.

I wouldn't have such a problem with offshoring/outsourcing if the cuts were across the board. Instead CEO and other people on top continue to make high paying salaries.

__________________
Is our children learning? -George W. Bush

"I think—tide turning—see, as I remember—I was raised in the desert, but tides kind of—it's easy to see a tide turn—did I say those words?"—Washington, D.C., June 14, 2006

"[T]he illiteracy level of our children are appalling."—Washington, D.C., Jan. 23, 2004

Take a look at the public sector, over 37% unionized at the federal level.

Wow, we agree on something?

Stop the world.

While there is plenty of blame to go around, a nice job covering this from previous posters, our government's trade policies are the one thing we can fix, if we have the desire.

For years imports used every trick in the book to get out of paying import taxes, or to lessen the burden. Back when the Japs first started taking voer our auto market they used loopholes. Import taxes could be avoided if cars were partially assembled in the US, so the Japs would leave off the windshield wipers, the bumpers and a few other items which could be quickly slapped on in the US and they could reduce their tax.

Our so-called free trade policies are anything but free and are the largest factor in destroying the US economy, 2nd only to our government's spending and debt, but of course they are directly related.

The American people have allowed this to happen and we must share in the blame. We should never have allowed this to happen. To trade US jobs so that we can buy cheap crap from other countries is only helping to fund our own demise.

In fact, their income is going up, while that of the workers is going down, at least in terms of real wages.

Now, check out this piece, but be sure to have a barf bag handy..........

The chief executives at the top 15 oil companies in the United States saw their total compensation rise by 50 percent from 2004 to 2005, according to a report by two liberal research groups.

The Institute for Policy Studies and United for a Fair Economy found that among the top 15 U.S. oil companies, the average compensation for chief executives was $32.7 million in 2005, compared with $11.6 million for all CEOs of large U.S. firms.

Among U.S. oil companies, William Greehey of Valero Energy took home the most in total compensation in 2005, earning $95.2 million, according to the report.

For the report, the researchers defined total compensation as salary, bonuses, restricted stock awarded, payouts on other long-term incentives, and the value of options exercised in a given year.

The report also found that total compensation for CEOs at defense contractors has risen sharply since the attacks of September 11. Since the attacks, the average compensation at the top 34 military contractors is double what it was in the four years before the attacks, according to the report.

CEO Pay at Oil Companies and Defense Contractors Skyrockets

More...........

Since 1990, the overall CEO-worker pay gap in the United States has grown from 107-to-1 to last year’s 411-to-1. Minimum wage workers have lost 9 percent after inflation in the same 15 years. If the minimum wage had risen at the same pace as CEO pay, it would now stand at $22.61 per hour, over four times the current $5.15.

Soldiers Die, CEOs Prosper DERRICK Z. JACKSON / Boston Globe 30aug2006

yes indeed..


anyway, whats to be seen is how much more destructive this will all be when china ramps up their auto production. American cars face a 22% tariff going in or produced on site, the tariff on Chinese cars in the deal worked out is?

...take a guess...

__________________
No individual can plan his own existence in their view.

So the state planners must arrogate to themselves the right to manipulate any sector of the economic system if the good of “society” or the “general welfare” is paramount.

Ipso- if the rights of the individual get in the way, the rights of the individual must be sublimated.

The Road to Serfdom
FA Hayek (interpretation)


Mortgage Backed Security survivor

I will take "SCREWING THE AMERICAN PEOPLE" for 500 Alex.

Answer:American cars face a 22% tariff going in or produced on site, the tariff on Chinese cars in the deal worked out is?

QUESTION: What is zero?

what is 2.5%,,,,,,,,,yeaa baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!! que the music..

__________________
No individual can plan his own existence in their view.

So the state planners must arrogate to themselves the right to manipulate any sector of the economic system if the good of “society” or the “general welfare” is paramount.

Ipso- if the rights of the individual get in the way, the rights of the individual must be sublimated.

The Road to Serfdom
FA Hayek (interpretation)


Mortgage Backed Security survivor

There's a foreign market for giant, gas-guzzling SUVs and pickups?

hey we'll make one.....

__________________
No individual can plan his own existence in their view.

So the state planners must arrogate to themselves the right to manipulate any sector of the economic system if the good of “society” or the “general welfare” is paramount.

Ipso- if the rights of the individual get in the way, the rights of the individual must be sublimated.

The Road to Serfdom
FA Hayek (interpretation)


Mortgage Backed Security survivor

Well the Middle East comes to my mind.
They love big SUVs and Pick up trucks and as it seems GM/Ford get their fair share of the market.

Just too bad, that they ( American automakers) mainly fail in all other parts of the market.

__________________
"bellum omnium contra omnes; atque in eo bello jus esse omnibus in omnia."
Thomas Hobbes

"Homo Homini Lupus"
Thomas Hobbes