GM to shed quarter of workforce this year

[Roland99]

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/13541353/

General Motors will on Monday disclose details of one of most dramatic corporate downsizings in US history, exceeding a key target of its turnround plan and accelerating the demise of the privileged American car worker.

Rick Wagoner, chief executive, is expected to announce that about 30,000 workers – more than a quarter of GM's blue-collar US workforce – have taken up its offer of early retirement and severance packages.

Almost all will leave by the end of the year, achieving in a few months what the company had set out to accomplish over more than two years.

A total of 50,000 workers or more is set to leave the industry over the next few months.

[mdmc]

1. I wonder what the H5 will look like

:mad:

[Botany]

2. the econonmy is doing fine .... look at all those New Wall Mart Workers

I betya anything that G.M. shuts down it's American and Canadian plants over the
next 5 years and moves them to Mexico, China, Vietnam, and other places.

I also beya that they are hiding some cash "off books" to do their move.

[BR_Parkway]

36. It's already started - GM to raise India workforce by 30%

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1309881.cms

NEW DELHI: America's loss is turning out to be India's gain. Within days of announcing 30,000 job-cuts in the US, automobile giant General Motors Corp will this week unveil plans to increase its workforce in India by nearly 30%.

Outsourcing, the cause of middle class extinction

[KayLaw]

58. God!

That's just so sad.

:-(

[MADem]

3. But, but...but....the economy is just HUMMING along!!!!!!!!!

Want fries with that?????

[gizmo1979]

4. This sucks.

It usually seems like how the auto industry goes the rest of industry soon follows.It seems like my job is always hanging by a thread.

[BeatleBoot]

5. And Ford To Invest BILLIONS in Mexico

http://www.leftlanenews.com/2006/06/16/ford-defends-mexico-investment/

I'll never even think of buying a Ford product again.

To me these guys are in the same league as Wal-Mart.

Cool bumper stickers, by the way, in your sig line.

[Roland99]

6. That story pisses me off the most! And, I've some replacement stickers

on the way. Those have gotten rather faded in time and need to be replaced. I'll update my sig when they come in :)

[Rex]

7. They have to lay off the workers, not enough money to pay them

and the CEOs retirement package. Sorry guys, wealthy people come first. :(

[Joe Bacon]

8. So when will GM default on the pensions and the health care?

All the Steelworkers in Pennsylvania got shafted when their companies defaulted on their pensions, and cheated them out of not only retirement income but health care too. Not a peep in the Whore Press about that when Pennsylvanians were screwed. Will they be just as silent when it GM does the same thing?

[okieinpain]

62. hey, those folks love bush.... pull yourselt up by your own bootstraps

that's what they all ways say. now the power borkers have come for them....

[krkaufman]

9. This needs to be remembered...

... when they come begging for government relief.

[tom22]

10. These replies are nonsense

These are not people who are being laid off. these are people who are voluntarily leaving their jobs. Many of them are retiring. Others are being paid substantial amounts of money to leave.
And if I recall correctly all of management took a pay cut and the dividend was cut in half. shareholders are sharing the pain.
30000 GM workers decided they were being treated in a fair manner. They didn't want to wait for the layoffs that were sure to come when the UAW contract runs out.

[physioex]

11. Are they...

"Retiring" with their pensions and healthcare? Do you really think the executives at GM are sharing in the pain?

[tom22]

12. yes they are retiring with full

pensions and with health care. Those were the terms of the buyout for anyone near retirement age. That is why the buyout was so popular. and yes white collar workers and top management are all sharing the pain. Rick Waggoner is far more likely to be involuntarily laid off than any UAW worker if the turnaround plan doen't work.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

13. -snip-

The buy-outs, from $35,000 to $140,000 depending on length of service, will bring big savings to GM, especially in future health and pension benefits.

[leftchick]

45. future health and pension benefits

will disappear.

[Joe Bacon]

17. They said the same thing to Steelworkers, then cut them off

This is the same line of bullshit that US Steel, Jones & Laughlin, Bethlehem, ARMCO, HK Porter, Wheeling Pittsburgh, PDM, HH Robertson, and the other white collar thieves said when they shut down the steel industry in Western Pennsylvania. Oh, we'll give you your pension and always take care of you.

Once upon a time, if you were lucky, you could go into a mill at the age of 18, if you were lucky to work 30 years, you got out at 48 with a well deserved pension, a compensation for destroying your lungs from inhaling benzene, sulfur dioxide and a whole bunch of other poisons. That was back when employers had a conscience. Then Along came Reagan and his Preacher Pals who preach Milton Friedman & Ayn Rand's "Looking Out for #1" shit. Once they destroyed their first victims, the Air traffic controllers, fairness went out the window.

If you believe that GM is going to keep its word, I've got a bridge in Brooklyn to sell to you. When GM goes into bankruptcy and cuts the workers loose, remember, I TOLD YOU SO!

[michreject]

38. You own a bridge?..eom

[robinlynne]

63. oh no. I read a long article last week showing the numbers of what Gm will

save. They are spending millions or billions on executive retirement packages. They could easily keep health care for their workers.
i think it mgiht have been on the pbs special on NOW about GM. Their executives get raises and bonuses for getting rid of workers.

[Rex]

14. Gosh, those poor rich people took a pay cut.

:eyes:

[Bullshot]

59. But these jobs will never be here again for future generations.

It's another sign that the middle class in this country is shrinking out of existence.

The thing that made this country the envy of the world is that it had a viable middle class that could afford houses, cars and other big-ticket spending items. Not that a handful of overpaid executives made billions for gross incompetence.

[mbperrin]

60. The real point here is that all the suppliers and companies in the

manufacturing pipeline will also be out of work, perhaps as many as 8 to 12 per worker lost in the factory, because India is not going to buy American steel and ship it there or electronics or glass or upholstery or engineers or you name it.

Never has been an economy worth a damn built on service industries and retirees, even assuming that those retirees are well provided for.

And why does no one ever point out that the reason the cars don't sell doesn't have a damn thing to do with anyone on the factory floor? They don't design them. They don't come up with the concepts. They don't sell them. They don't finance them or offer incentives or any of the other reasons why these cars don't sell. But they take the pain. Executives SHARED in the pain? They should be dismissed and sued for mismanagement, mal-, mis-, and non-feasance, and then blacklisted from the industry. Shareholders SHARE the pain? WHO put the asswipes in management in there? Shareholders should lose their investment. These are the decision-makers, these are the people in charge, but the axe falls on someone else.

And the airlines had their pension plans in hand until the other day, too, so let's see how that goes.

SO - wreck the company, wreck the suppliers who may or may not have any kind of package, and go overseas. To do what" Build the same designs? Look for a move to somewhere else even cheaper next time. Build a product people want. That's the market. Don't try to force people to buy what you have just because it's big money IF they do. When they don't, this mess is what you get.

Trillions in equity and damage down the drain because of the willful blindness of "executives".

[Cobalt Violet]

15. "shed", like unwanted pet fur.

US workers are just a nuisance like dog fur.

[tom22]

16. walking away with $140000 after ten years service

plus accrued pension benefits is hardly being treated like dog fur. Many DUers seem to live in a world detached from economic reality.

[Joe Bacon]

18. Now how many people are going to REALLY get that $140,000?

I'll bet the farm they are few and far between!

[tom22]

19. everyone with over ten years of service

was offered $140000 plus accrued pension. Those close to retirement were offered early retirement that comes close to full vesting at retirement age.
Why do you think 30000 people volutarily took these offers? This is the way you want a company to treat its workers. Not give them a pink slip and directions to the unemployment office.

[Cobalt Violet]

20. How much does some one with 9.5 years of service get?

[Kokonoe]

21. 9.9 years gets a goodby handshake.

[LiberalFighter]

28. There are some that feel different

"You put your name on that piece of paper, it’s like saying ‘my life is over with,’" said Dennis Henry, president of a UAW local at the GM technical center in Warren, Mich. "You’re almost admitting that the best part of your life is gone. That’s what’s been working on a lot of the people here."

I saw that in the local paper and thought the only people that would think their life was over were those that came into work 1 to 2 hours before startup. Those are the ones that will have trouble adjusting when they do retire. They have becomed institutionalized to working at GM.

I had planned on retiring next year as soon as I was eligible based on having the necessary hours. When they announced the deal it wasn't what I wanted in that I wasn't getting the $35,000 or other amounts. After consideration I figured that was going to receive almost $35,000 until I was officially retired. Just as good. Plus I won't have to go to work early in the morning and work all the overtime especially the unscheduled overtime.

I had earlier hoped that I would start it the middle of next month but that wasn't going to happen. Then I finally decided to sign up earlier than planned and hoped to start my "vacation" last week Monday. Instead they cancelled my transfer and told me I had to stay until the end of the month. Oh well.

[michreject]

41. I work at the Tech Center (but leaving soon)

I figure that by leaving, i'll save at least 300.00 a month in gas alone.

[LiberalFighter]

68. I figured that cost too and came up with 30 gallons a month

Not quite the 300

In addition, to the 30 gallons I am sure to save by making a trip to a store once every 2 or 3 days.

Also figured saving on cost of newspapers when started having it delivered instead of going to a newstand.

[Joe Bacon]

37. Sure they will

...and I bet the Tooth Fairy will make a SPECIAL VISIT to their homes.

We heard these lies before (1982) when Reagan self-destructed the steel industry!

[Rex]

30. That kind of pension agreement is nice, a large chunk of change

but don't live over 65, then it runs out and you have to depend on SS.

[michreject]

40. Wow

You own a bridge and a farm.

[robinlynne]

64. 35,000. not 140,000.

[Faygo Kid]

22. As a Michigan resident, I am stunned. This is a HUGE story.

I guess at least GM, unlike Enron, is giving its employees a buyout. Still, this is sad news. With tech jobs outsourced to India, and good manufacturing jobs pretty much gone, where are the jobs going to come from? How much domestic help does the Bush family need, anyway? An aside - what is with the smarmy phrase by MSNBC, "the privileged American car worker." Excuse me, did I miss something, or did the American car worker not contribute something? Checked CEO pay and perks lately? But workers are "privileged?" Sounds like Betsy DeVos on one of her moderate billionaire days.

[tom22]

23. Your handshake for 9.5 years of service

is $70000. And remember all of this is voluntary. You are under no obligation whatsoever to accept $70000.
I know all of you would like to believe this is the story of the big bad corporation exploiting its workers, but nothing could be farther from the truth. According to Friday's Wall Street Journal the number of workers leaving their jobs with substantial money in their pockets or becoming retired will exceed by several thousand the number GM management was looking for.
If you do a little research and read some of the articles in the prss some GM workers are describing thia as hitting the lottery.

[Cobalt Violet]

24. How long will $70,000 last?

I guess they can always get another job that pays at least what they were earning. :sarcasm:

[LiberalFighter]

29. They are not on any obligation to leave.

Some have spouses that also work at GM and either they will retire with full pension and $35,000 to boot or continue working. I know of one couple where the wife has 30 years and the husband has a couple of years to go yet. He is taking the early buyout and will be on her insurance.

Everybody have different circumstances they have to consider. Some not easy and others it is a done deal. Some may decide that they will spend more time with the family if the other spouse works and others may decide to start another career.

For me, I had to think about my plans and figured that I am only going to be retired from GM but not from the workforce. I also figured that if I worked up to 12 weeks a year I would be doing fine.

I figure I will have more time to help oust/beat Republican candidates that have no business being paid by the taxpayers.

[Cobalt Violet]

44. It still sucks that that job will not be filled by the next generation...

Of worker. Good paying jobs gone for good is always bad for everyone.

[LiberalFighter]

69. I agree... only good paying jobs will sustain the rest of us

and provide more opportunities for everybody.

[michreject]

42. or start a small business

and work for yourself.

[w4rma]

50. In India where the employees are cheaper than toilet paper. (nt)

[whathappened]

43. the big picture

what you are failing to see here , is the 30,000 job won't be replaced here in country , they will be out sorced to india and mexico , wake up and see what has happened to this country , your job or pension may be next and then you will be the one who will have a hand out for help , this money is chump chain to these corp , because they will make it back fast with the cheap labor they are about to hire , not here

[madville]

53. Guy I know got $56,000

A guy I know got $56,000 and some other benefits to leave early. He's only 29 and is going back to school for a career in the health care field. He said this buy-out was one of the best things that has ever happened to him. His wife also works for GM, she is going to stay until he finishes school.

[DisgustedTX]

25. Tom is correct in many ways

I loved this tidbit from the story:

"They will also shrink the so-called Jobs Bank, which lets laid-off workers collect full pay just for showing up at an assembly plant each day or doing volunteer community service."

Sounds like a HORRIBLE existence compared to the rest of the workforce. Have you EVER been LAID OFF WITH FULL PAY from an employer? I thought not.

These VOLUNTARY departures amount to what seems likely to be between 50-120 weeks of pay for the average GM worker. You would have to work 25-SIXTY years to get an equivalent package from your "average" employer offering a two-week/service year severance.

Yes - it is becoming increasingly depressing to witness the demise of the US auto industry, but this is not an example of corporatism at its worst. These buyouts were offered and accepted voluntarily by a large portion of the GM workforce.

[Major Hogwash]

26. Yeah, tom managed to find the silver lining in that neocon cloudburst.

But, what other choice did these GM workers have, but to accept the offer given them?

The point of fact is that unless these guys can find jobs in the SAME industry, Bush won't even pay them unemployment benefits while they look for new jobs.

Anybody that has lost their job these last 5 years found out about that "catch 22" situation concerning the Bush admin a long time ago.

If they can't find a new job in the SAME industry, after 2 years they won't even be included in the umemployment figures.

[DisgustedTX]

56. It isn't about Bush.

This story is about GM and its workers. GM didn't have to offer anything to anyone as I'm sure you've figured out.

[Ilsa]

27. Keeeeeee- riste! So this is what Bush's "Murica is all about!

no improvement in min. wage, CEO's getting damn good golden parachutes that make me wish the dollar would devalue to zilch so they'd be in the same spot as me.

Sheeeeee-it.

[samsingh]

31. not good at all.

more of bush's economy.

[Fovea]

32. More signs of catastrophic success

How will Rove spin this?
These were primarily democratic voters anyway....

[OneBlueSky]

33. is there any major manufacturing industry left in this country? . . .

steel is gone, textiles is gone, electronics is gone, and now automobiles is on the way out . . .

shuffling money and papers from one place to another is not creating wealth . . . the US ecnomy is indeed a "paper tiger" . . .

[JCMach1]

35. Very little is left... and what is there is under pressure...

:(

[raccoon]

46. Don't they still make pallets (loading pallets) in the US?

:sarcasm: but I think they still do.

[bobbieinok]

66. in the 80s (I think) there were some 'big thinkers' saying that the US'

real future was to be the food supplier to the world....b/c of our great farmland, etc.

This was after the 'big thinkers' said the US was going to be the high tech idea supplier to the world.

But IT jobs are gone......and the family farm is gone.....there's just big agribusiness.

Did ya ever read any of those sci-fi novels about how everyone eats stuff manufactured in vats and most people have no jobs and live in high-rise tenements, able to have a child only if you have a job.....if you lose your job, you 'lose' your child.

There's one horrible novel where the poor live in high-rise tenements.....they only eat if they're in the data base (have some sort of chip).....people have many more children than the govt says they can have; periodically the crooks sweep up many of the kids and store them as sources of organ replacements.

[truthisfreedom]

34. IF the administration had the foresight to keep EPA regulations in place

and not allow the ridiculous writeoff for purchasing SUVs, the auto companies might have been forced to produce cars that America really wants rather than the oversized dinosaurs they're still making.

[michreject]

39. I'm one of them

I'm leaving on Sept. 1st. 30 years of service. Full pension, medical and dental. 35,000.00 to go.:D

[Kittycat]

47. Do you have a plan?

Just curious. How long is your pension and $35K going to last you? Are you relocating to an area with below average cost of living? Do you have a mortgage, second mortgage, Car loan, kids in school, other debt?

Do you have a retirement plan and additional savings? Chances are, you aren't going to find another job in your area - will I see you passing out carts at wal-mart or mopping floors at McDonalds?

I'm really saddened for these people who are forced into two boxes - take the known, or take the unknown down the road. Some people will think they've just won the lottery, and burn through that money in no time. Others will think that they can just find another job, but won't or only under reduced pay. Then the very few will actually be able to retire.

I don't know about your area, but $35K in the Chicago area will get you about 4-6 mo if you REALLY skimp, and have a family, mortgage, car payment, etc.

Oh, and just something I thought about. What rate will this be taxed at? I remember when I was downsized and got what many considered a hefty severance check. With owed vacation rolled in, I was paid nearly 6mo of pay. After taxes, it worked out to be only 3mo. I had to use every penny of that to relocate to Chicago (from Ohio), and put money into a new place to live, that cost nearly twice what I paid in Ohio. And I drove the uhaul, with my car in tow - completely single. There just wasn't a job left in my field that was going to pay even close to what I was making. Downsizing was really popular at them time. Still is :(

Just something to think about.

[michreject]

48. Going back to Tennessee

Going to sell my house and build one. It will be paid for. Only going to worry about utility bills. My wife has a pension from the County as well. Both have full medical from out respective employers. I have my 20 years worth of 401 and my wife has hers. Been planing for this day for 20 years. Actually, i've been ready since the first day of kindergarten.

[Kittycat]

49. Proud of you!

So few wound have considered as much as you have. I wish you the best of luck in your retirement, and in building your new home :)

[hogwyld]

51. A lot of the blame can be placed at our feet...

How many here have cars made from GM, Ford, Chrysler? If they don't sell cars, the business has to contract to meet the reduced demand. Me, I own a Chevy made in Indiana, a Dodge caravan, and a 10 year old Ford made in Michigan with over 100k trouble free miles. Now, how many actually gloat about the demise of "fat cat corporations"?

[michreject]

52. The roar to buy foreign cars

is really loud here and then those folks criticize the domestic corp. for reducing the work staff when their product don't sell.:wtf:

[madville]

54. I love foreign cars

My last five vehicles have been: Nissan, Nissan, Nissan, Honda, Toyota.

It all boils down to quality for me. If GM, Ford, or Chrysler made a quality product they would be far better off than they are now. Honda and Toyota are the best choices out there for the average consumer IMO.

[hogwyld]

57. You sir, are part of the problem

Who is the average consumer? Blue collar people working normal jobs to make ends meet. The destruction of the american auto industry is a bitter pill given by those who's claim of loyalty or allegiance to the union brotherhood rings hollow. I only hope tht because of our shortsighted actions to buy foreign cars, we don't doom our national future to dead end minimum wage jobs.

[kineneb]

70. I would have liked to buy US-made car

but when I went to look for one, no US company made a small station wagon- like auto. I wound up with a Hyundai Elantra, which now has 125K miles and still gets 30-34 mpg. I didn't want an SUV.

[Jack Rabbit]

55. The world would be a better place without GM

To the conservatives who complain that the government is a big, bloated bureacracy we can do without, may I suggest a new thesis and see if they take it up: we don't need big, bloated bureacracies, public or private.

[tom22]

61. Let me first say how proud I am that some UAW union workers

wrote in to agree with my claim that GM is a good company that treats its workers well (and, as it has been for the last 30 years, a model employer in the US). To be frank, most DUers don't know their ass from their elbow when they start talking about economic issues.
The figures are in tonight: 87% of the people who took the buyout took early retirement. only 13% of the takers took the cash offer. The large majority of GM union workers believe in their company and believe that they have a future. I own a GM car (one of the last Oldsmobile Intrigues, a great car that most reviewers at the time thought was a better car than the comparable Toyota Camry). But I own some shares in Ford (with 40 billion in the bank and paying their owners a 6% dividend, a virtual no brainer investement). The American car industry is a couple of hit cars away from being very safe. and they will produce the hit cars. I am optimistic, just like the good Democratic UAW members who work for companies that treat their workers very well.

[michreject]

65. Thanks Tom

I believe in GM or I would not have taken this offer.

Anyone listen to CarTalk this week-end? A grandmotherly type owns a Saturn with 180,000 trouble free miles on it and wants a new car for her surf board. Instead of suggesting a Saturn Vue, these dickheads suggest a Honda. Why not another Saturn? If I had a car that had damn near 200,000 trouble free miles on it, i'd want its twin.

[tom22]

67. I want a Pontiac Solstice, but I guess I have

to wait for 6 months.

[LincolnMcGrath]

71. Speaking of asses and elbows, here is some econmic reality for you

To help explain its deep slump, General Motors Corp. often cites "legacy costs," including pensions for its giant U.S. work force. In its latest annual report, GM wrote, "Our extensive pension and (post-employment) obligations to retirees are a competitive disadvantage for us." Early this year, GM announced it was ending pensions for 42,000 workers.

But there's a twist to the automaker's pension situation: The pension plans for its rank-and-file U.S. workers are overstuffed with cash, containing about $9 billion more than is needed to meet their obligations for years to come.

Another of GM's pension programs, however, saddles the company with a liability of $1.4 billion. These pensions are for its executives.

This is the pension squeeze companies aren't talking about: Even as many reduce, freeze or eliminate pensions for workers, their executives are building up ever-bigger pensions, causing the companies' financial obligations for them to balloon.

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=440305

[LincolnMcGrath]

72. .

.