Detroit Will Be Laying Off Thousands [View All]

[Jon8503]

Big Dealers Pressure
Car Makers
To Cut Production
Higher Costs, Thin Margins
Are Forcing Major Sellers
To Keep Inventories Lean

By KAREN LUNDEGAARD
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 29, 2004; Page A1

Detroit's post-Sept. 11 strategy of filling dealer lots with cars and clearing them out with big discounts is losing support among the constituency that once profited the most: car dealers.

Some of the nation's biggest auto-retailing groups, citing higher interest costs and thinner margins, in their new-car businesses, say they no longer will crowd their lots with slow-selling cars and trucks to help Detroit's auto makers avoid production cuts.

General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. are already making plans to cut overtime or lay off temporarily thousands of workers to avoid a repeat of this summer's inventory glut. Industry executives expect even more cuts.

From the Wall Street Journal Which Is A Paid Subscription So Unable To
Provide Link For Entire Story: