General Motors to Cut 25,000 Jobs

[UpInArms]

http://www.marketwatch.com/tools/quotes/newsarticle.asp?siteid=mktw&sid=2160&guid=%7BE84230C3%2D7474%2D4558%2D97F4%2D5B462830727F%7D&symb=

WILMINGTON, Del., Jun 07, 2005 (AP Online via COMTEX) -- Addressing shareholders at the company's annual meeting on Tuesday, General Motors Corp. Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoneer said it expects to close additional assembly and component plants over the next few years, and reduce the company's manufacturing employment levels in the U.S. by 25,000 or more people between 2005 and 2008.

Wagoneer said the company expects these capacity and employment actions will generate annual savings of about $2.5 billion.

...very short news release...

[Alpharetta]

1. What's good for GM is good for America

(well, it's good for "ownership society" anyways)

[cthrumatrix]

5. they already have JV's with Chinese Companies for export to America

watch what happens

[losdiablosgato]

25. Dumping th Ceo and the board should be the firast ting they do

That would help turn aronnd this train wreck more then anything.

[Lindsay]

2. That Bush boom

just keeps on comin'.

[VegasWolf]

54. Bush, the gift that keeps on giving! n/t

[KlatooBNikto]

3. This was coming for a long time.Expect this bloodletting to continue.

The floggings will continue until morale improves.

[bpilgrim]

4. Should I learn Chinese or Swahili?

:shrug:

peace

[VegasWolf]

55. Chineese of course! n/t

[SpiralHawk]

6. "Prosperity is just around the corner." - Geroge W. Bush

"Make my tax cuts for the wealthy a permanent thing, and I promise to continue my reign of benevolence (for the wealthy). Support my plan for an Ownership Society now, and I promise you that every American Citizen-Consumer Unit (ACCU) will have a nice owner. You are either with me and my Republican Oil and Munitions Cronies, or you are against us."

- Commander Cuckoo Banannas

[brooklynite]

19. If you keep turning the corner, you end up back where you started

[Media_Lies_Daily]

7. Hey...gotta keep those profits at acceptable limits!

[smirkymonkey]

8. This is sickening.

"Wagoneer said the company expects these capacity and employment actions will generate annual savings of about $2.5 billion."

...of which 2.3 billion will be used to to fatten executives pay and bonuses.

[WhiteTara]

11. and the balance will

go to all their friends!

[UpInArms]

12. G'Morning BNL!

:hi:

check your PM

[hatrack]

9. The economy is strong and getting stronger

Just keep saying that to yourself, OK?

[acmejack]

10. How much more of these good times can we take?

The ownership society obviously includes slaves...

[VegasWolf]

56. Bush, et al, always believed in a feudalistic society. n/t

[indepat]

13. At least those losing their jobs want have to worry about losing their

pensions should they have worked for GM to retirement age.

[Atman]

14. You know what this means...

BushCo will release new lower unemployment numbers. Last month, barely half the numbers of jobs needed to keep pace with population growth, but still we managed a DECREASE in unemployment. BushCo does the most amazing slight-of-hand with numbers.

[wallwriter]

16. People have stopped looking for work...

[dubyaD40web]

15. "We're turning the corner." ~bush

Welcome to Bush's* America folks.

[Massachusetts]

17. ""We're turning the corner." ~bush"

[madmom]

18. More like we're cornered don't ya think n/t

[bill]

20. "We're turning the corner"...

and falling down the stairs!

(Family Guy, 7-5-05)

[sabra]

21. MSNBC LBN: General Motors to cut 25,000 manufacturing jobs, shut more plan

<<SNIP>>
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8129876/

GM to slash jobs, close more plants
CEO says 25,000 manufacturing positions to be cut

The Associated Press
Updated: 9:47 a.m. ET June 7, 2005

WILMINGTON, Del. - General Motors Corp. plans to eliminate 25,000 jobs in the United States by 2008 by closing additional assembly and components plants, part of a plan to revive its struggling North American operations.

Speaking to shareholders at GM’s 96th annual shareholder meeting in Delaware Tuesday morning, Chairman and Chief Executive Rick Wagoner said the capacity and employment reductions will generate annual savings of roughly $2.5 billion.

Wagoner revealed the cutbacks as he laid out a four-step strategy to revive GM’s North American business, the biggest and most troubling part of the world’s largest automaker.

Wagoner focused on priorities for clarifying the role of each of GM’s eight brands, intensifying efforts to reduce cost and improve quality and continuing to search for ways to reduce skyrocketing health care costs

<</SNIP>>

[hadrons]

22. that Bush job machine just keep on going ....

and mowing down job about job

[losdiablosgato]

23. GM Plans to Cut 25,000 U.S. Jobs by 2008

WILMINGTON, Del. - General Motors Corp. plans to eliminate 25,000 jobs in the United States by 2008 by closing additional assembly and components plants, part of a plan to revive its struggling North American operations. ADVERTISEMENT

Speaking to shareholders at GM's 96th annual shareholder meeting in Delaware Tuesday morning, Chairman and Chief Executive Rick Wagoner said the capacity and employment reductions will generate annual savings of roughly $2.5 billion.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050607/ap_on_bi_ge/general_motors_outlook

[losdiablosgato]

24. Get rid of the board and ceo of this trainwreck

That would be the most help.

[GOPBasher]

26. The economic news just gets better and better!

:eyes:

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

27. Bush radio address 6/4/05: "America's economy is on the right track"

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/06/20050604.html

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. America's economy is on the right track. Over the past two years, we've added more than 3.5 million new jobs. More Americans are working today than ever before. Home ownership is at an all time high. Small businesses are flourishing. Factory output is growing. And families are taking home more of what they earn.

These are hopeful signs for our economy, and we must work hard to sustain that prosperity.

[underthedome]

39. Everything is better with coke, isn't that right Bush? nm

Bush is an idiot.

[HughBeaumont]

28. Bushonomics at it's finest.

Hey you dumb bastard conservatard lurkers - Still think your wonderful free markets, offshoring and giving the rich gobs o' cash is the way to middle class prosperity? STILL think we're crazy about bringing up the "New Feudalism"? How much rank and file blood needs to be spilled before you dickheads WAKE THE HELL UP ALREADY?

Your simian champion and his Robber Baron "base" are shanking your asses with Steely Dans and despite all of this you'll STILL take it chin up for them. A round of applause. Jesus.

[LynneSin]

29. I love the results of this poll found on CNN - hopefully GM will take heed

http://money.cnn.com/POLLSERVER/results/18066.html

GM has put all it's marbles in the massive SUV bag thinking that America wants these behemoth gas guzzlers. But in our area (mid-Atlantic), car companies can't give these gas guzzlers away. Sure, the profit margin is bigger in these large, oversized vehicles. But what good is a profit margin when America isn't interested in these vehicles.

Once again Japan is going to rule the car market because they're going after the hybrid market. Hell, even Lexus is making a hybrid SUV. (Lexus RX400).

If GM wants to be competitive then they need to start focusing on better gas mileage on their vehicles. I'm sure the GM Lobbyists fought the CAFE increase bill in Congress that came out a few years ago (and failed) and now GM is suffering because of their refusal to do anything about gas mileage.

I have no problem buying a foreign car knowing that I can save money on buying foreign oil. Hell, my Toyota was made in America and I have no care what CEO is making profits off of me as long as I know that Americans were employed to build my car!

[Atman]

30. "Hell, even Lexus is making a hybrid SUV." A Lexus is just a Toyota.

Toyota is already making the Prius (which, btw, is experiencing some powerplant problems. Or is it a computer software problem?). So that Lexus is doing a hybris SUV should come as no surprise to anyone. The trouble for Toyota is that they've bet their was on the Prius prototype, which is now showing signs of some potentially serious problems.

You brave pioneers who want to be early adopters of this unproven technology, go for it. I'll wait for you to work the kinks out, then jump into the next-gen hybrid market.

The overall point of your post is well founded though. Thanks.

[derby378]

33. Meanwhile, back at Toyota...

I hear champagne corks popping and sake barrels breaking - and whispers of hiring more American workers.

[Pachamama]

35. Meanwhile, back at GM, does the guy who kept pushing the Hummer still have

a job?

thanks to that genius and the rest of management that had to make bigger and more gas-guzzling, those 25K people are out of a job, GM is in the tank (so to speak) and your right, meanwhile back at Toyota they are partying....

Can you say gas-hybrid train engine? :eyes: GM missed the boat...they are up there with the people who thought telephones and computers would be irrelevant....

[Atman]

37. GM says bennies add $1600 to the price of a car...what about CEO bennies?

What about the millions upon millions of dollars in bonuses and options the decision makers get? I notice those figures are conspicuously absent from the discussion. Its probably not $1600, but it's gotta be measureable!

[UpInArms]

53. here's the poop on the GM CEO's compensation

http://www.forbes.com/static/execpay2005/LIRSOX2.html?passListId=12&passYear=2005&passListType=Person&uniqueId=SOX2&datatype=Person

G Richard Wagoner Jr
Total Compensation: $8.5 mil (#159)

...more detail at link...

[LynneSin]

36. well, not like I'm ready to trade in my 2000 Corolla

The main point is the technology is out there and is only going to get better from what's available today. The fact that Toyota & Honda are taking the inititive to make this technology available is probably why these companies are solid and GM is getting ready to layoff employees and have stocks that classified as 'junk'

[DS1]

40. Big trucks are dirt cheap here in MA, AND you get a 'prize'

selected at Home Depot, big toolchest on wheels, hottub IIRC, those sorts of things.

[King Coal]

31. Whose going to buy your fucking cars GM?

The Chinese? They can barely afford to live.

[Pachamama]

32. "As GM goes, so goes America" (or something like that) I remember seeing

that quote once somewhere....

Yikes...that's the signal folks....can you say "recession"?

[Catfight]

34. I feel so bad for major corporations that screw themselves under Bush.

I'm sure GM enjoyed the benefits of selling their gas guzzling SUV's and Hummers only to have Bush screw them with high gas prices from an illegal war. Greed is going to be the downfall of this era of irresponsibility.

[AzDar]

38. Think about it...this represents (at least) 25,000 FAMILIES whose

lives will quite likely never be as secure and stable as they are right now, once these devastating losses take place. For some it means much worse.....Thanks, you crazy little Chimp,
(and all those who've enabled him).

[theHandpuppet]

59. Those are just the "direct" casualities

Think of the local small businesses that will also go under because they either serve those plants or those who work at those plants.

[NuttyFluffers]

61. or more sensibly, 25k most likely GM purchasers.

people often buy what they work to produce.

could've fired 1 ceo (who probably wouldn't have bought a GM car all that much) and save 25k customers/workers. would've maintained production, good word of mouth, morale, and on and on and on. or you could destroy their lives, get even worse word of mouth, decimate morale, lower production, cut back on your now shrinking user base, etc.

gee, that's really hard. i think stockholders should reward the pedantic overpaid courtier instead of the serfs that actually produce something. yeah, that'll be productive. :sarcasm:

[Up2Late]

41. GM plans to cut 25,000 jobs in US (BBC News)

Tuesday, 7 June, 2005, 16:51 GMT 17:51 UK

GM plans to cut 25,000 jobs in US

General Motors is planning to cut 25,000 jobs in the US as it tries to recover from poor performance there.

The US car giant is to shut down parts and assembly plants in an attempt to save $2.5bn (£1.4bn) a year. The cutbacks were announced by chief executive Rick Wagoner as part of a four-step plan to return the firm to financial health.

The carmaker, the biggest in the US domestic market, made a loss of $1.3bn for the first three months of 2005. The loss would have been even larger without healthy profits on GM's financial services arm.

The company has already announced plans to cut 12,000 jobs from its European units, including Saab and Opel. Tuesday's announcement saw GM shares gain 2.3% to $31.11.

SUV shortfall

In a "state of the business" speech to investors, Mr Wagoner said his plans could see more than 25,000 jobs disappear by 2008. The firm's most recent performance had seen GM fall short of its expectations for market share, he acknowledged. In addition, sales of lucrative sports utility vehicles (SUVs) were flagging in favour of smaller cars on which the firm earns slimmer profits, as high fuel costs hit home.

(more at link above)

[snot]

52. If you appreciate the BBC as we've known it, PLS go to this link:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=203&topic_id=376080&mesg_id=376080

[kwolf68]

42. And in a related story

General Motors stock will rally on the market and for such “success”, the executives will be handed nice fat bonuses at the end of the year for “saving billions.”

[reprobate]

43. Little Abner said,"What's good for General Bullmoose's good for the USA

Referring to eneral Motors.

[Az_lefty]

44. When are we suppose to turn that corner?

I guess we just keep going around in circles.

[Zerex71]

45. The economy is getting stronger and stronger and stronger every day...

[bunny planet]

46. two cars in every garage and a chicken in every pot.

Nyet.

[barbaraann]

47. They crushed the electric cars. (EV1's)

http://ev1.org/

[guajira]

48. GM Plans to Cut 25,000 Jobs by 2008

Very sad - B* Economy!

snippet:
He noted that health-care expenses add $1,500 to the cost of each vehicle. This puts GM at a ``significant disadvantage versus foreign-based competitors,'' and said GM has conducted ``intense discussions'' with the unions about how to reduce health-care costs, he said.

General Motors shares rose 47 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $30.89 in early trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian's offer to purchase 28 million GM shares at $31 apiece, boosting his stake to about 9 percent from 4 percent, expires later today.

In the cost-reduction area, Wagoner said it was vital for the company to improve efficiency at its manufacturing plants. He said that plant closings and idlings in recent months have reduced assembly capacity in North America from 6 million in 2002 to 5 million by the end of this year.

It was not immediately known which GM plants would be closed.
more...

http://channels.netscape.com/ns/pf/story.jsp?idq=/ff/story/0001%2F20050607%2F1009140768.htm&sc=1333&photoid=20031020TOK105

[whistle]

49. Oh crap, you can't expect the consumer to pay for the healthcare

...of auto-workers, good gawd!:sarcasm:

[Kipling]

50. America needs nationalised healthcare.

It's the obvious solution.

[guajira]

51. CNN Reports two plants vulnerable

On Wolf Blitzer, it was reported that two plants that are vulnerable are a Wisconsin plant built in 1919, and a Georgia plant built in the 1940's.

I feel sorry for all the people who will lose good jobs - unless they voted for B*.

[baby_bear]

57. The union should not have opposed higher CAFE standards

Dont' get me wrong: I am a total union person, but in this case, it infuriated me that the automotive union was dead set against increasing required gas mileage for fleets, or redefining fleets so SUVs were included, to save jobs. It always seemed clear to me that the union should have been more progressive and banded with those who were environmentally progressive, which would have created, not taken away from, automotive jobs in this country. Now our SUVs are dinosaurs.

This makes me angry and sad at the same time. It was so damned predictable and so damned preventable.

Damn damn damn

b_b

[fortyfeetunder]

58. I share your anger...

I am p'd that the UAW would have voted against CAFE standards, What line of bullshit did GM management feed them? Didn't they realize they needed to be looking at alternative fuel cars at some point?

As it is, we lost 20 years pissing away at conservation because of the oil glut.

I feel sorry for the folks who are losing their jobs, but geez, this could have been avoided...Big time...

[ngGale]

60. Welcome to Bushworld...

it's all about the elite, his base.

[iverglas]

62. NO cuts at GM Canada -- the real news re: healthcare costs

There is nervousness in the Canadian Auto Workers union, but

For now, GM woes stop at Canadian border

The Oshawa, Ont., assembly operations operated by General Motors of Canada Ltd. are one of the jewels in the crown.

Oshawa car plant No. 2, which turns out the Buick Allure (the car is called LaCrosse in the United States) and Pontiac Grand Prix models, is the highest-quality assembly plant in North America, according to an annual study by automotive consulting firm J.D. Power and Associates.

The neighbouring Oshawa car plant No. 1, where the Chevrolet Impala and Monte Carlo cars come off the assembly line, ranked second.

They're also among the most productive plants in the industry in North America, according to another annual study of automotive manufacturing efficiency called the Harbour Report. Oshawa No. 1 ranked first in productivity last year, while Oshawa No. 2 was fourth.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20050608/RGMCAN08/TPBusiness/TopStories

And how obvious is it now that it is Canada's health care plan that gives those plants the significant advantage? The Canadian employer contributes to supplemental health insurance costs (dental, prescription ...), and those costs are rising too, but the plain fact is that a public health care plan gives a country a huge competitive advantage, and this fact is not lost on transnational corporations.

GM Canada is going to be HIRING.