GM to get rid of 50,000 workers within mos.

[donsu]

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


GM to shed quarter of workforce this year

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.

Later this week, Delphi – the former GM subsidiary which is north America's biggest auto parts maker – is expected to disclose that at least 9,000 of its 31,000 unionised workers have accepted similar buy-outs.

-snip-

In addition, Ford, the second-biggest Detroit-based carmaker, has disclosed that more than 10,000 workers have taken packages. All three companies are also cutting salaried staff.
-snip-
-----------------------------------


sigh

[Book Lover]

1. Here's the Detroit News' version ...

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060627/AUTO01/606270365/1148

DETROIT -- More than 47,000 union workers at General Motors Corp. and bankrupt Delphi Corp. have taken buyouts or early retirements in what amounts to the biggest corporate downsizing in U.S. automotive history.

GM said Monday that 35,000 hourly employees have agreed to leave the struggling automaker for packages ranging from $35,000 to $140,000 -- which will allow the company to reach its target reduction of 30,000 hourly jobs by Jan. 1, two years early.

<snip>

Wagoner said the 35,000 departing workers include 33,800 represented by the UAW and another 1,200 represented by the International Union of Electrical Workers and Communication Workers of America.

Of the 35,000 who signed up, Wagoner said that 4,600 accepted cash buyouts that included relinquishing their health benefits.

[Synnical]

2. "privileged American car worker" . . .

:evilfrown:

[ComerPerro]

3. Bush's latest legacy: Killing the US auto industry

Of course, conservatives will blame this on liberals, unions, and environmentalists

[tabasco]

4. According to brain-washed right-wingers ...

this is no big deal or even good news!

It's just people retiring and stuff!

(they forget that this means jobs that are going away forever)

[Deja Q]

5. Will the privileged executives take a pay cut also?

After all, they tell us they make the big decisions and have to face the implications and therefore are worth the money.

Funny how that keeps being said... meanwhile actions show that more and more costs are being shifted. Bad companies go under. Worse ones shift the blame (and sadly stay in business).

Why should it be different for them? Any one of us putting out rubbish products would be given the pink slip.

[DELUSIONAL]

7. WHAT??? Give up the company jet?

how are they going to live in just one house???

They need the jets to commute to their homes in ski areas -- or on a tropical island.

<sarcasm already!>

[The Anti-Neo Con]

6. I don't get it.

How can they still make cars and hardly have anyone working for them anymore?

[lectrobyte]

9. I was helping my neighbor change oil on his F-150. I was surprised

how many parts had "Heche en Mexico" stamped on them. Basically, lots of subassemblies are now made elsewhere. I think GM makes engines now in China for some of their car line. The final car may be assembled here, but a lot of the components, especially labor intensive pieces, now come from elsewhere.

[blues90]

11. this has been going on for many years now

I worked for ford at their wonderful dealerships for many years and most all the parts other than the actual boby structure is made either in china , mexico , canada , india , malasia and the list goes on . I always had to laugh when people who bought a new car or truck said they wanted to but american . And to top this off most of the problems arise from these very same outsourced parts and there are given out to the lowest bidder , not the best quality but the lowest bidder .

All of this is one enormous sick joke . Almost nothing is made in the USA anymore this should have been some sort of clue way would the auto's be any different .

With all these jobs gone now and you don't know how many people who lost their job are still well away from retirement age , many may have 20 or more years left to go and they will be out there fighting for the very few low wage jobs out there and then where will we be ?

I doubt that one single job that has been outsourced will ever return and I certainly don't see a trend in new jobs for the 21st century popping out of the ground anything soon if ever .

All that will happen is as the numbers of people unemployed rises and they loose their homes or dwellings do to no money then there will be many thousands with nothing to stop them from storming the whitehouse and pulling it off it's foundation .

[Breeze54]

10. They're moving out of the country.

http://www.newsocialist.org/index.php?id=897
snip-->
"There is more. GM’s ongoing expansion in China benefits directly
from rock bottom labour costs much lower than those in Mexico.
These rock bottom labour costs are held down by state controlled trade unions
which support the economic policies of a Chinese government that stays in power
by running a highly repressive police state. So GM is massively profiting from
the exploitation of a powerless, dirt cheap labour force working within an all
pervasive police state." <--snip

[Synnical]

8. . . .

[survivor999]

12. Saw it on NOW

Last Sunday... Those taking the money were saying they were pretty sure their contract would not be renewed when it was up. So, better get something than nothing... Sad situation... They interviewed a janitor who is making 60K/year there. She said she understood why the company had to get younger and less expensive people (she seemed aware that they could find a janitor for much less than 60ks). So, she was not bitter about it... The main guy they interviewed was very bitter about it but decided to accept is 100K + offer and gfet out... Interesting mix of attitudes...

[LaPera]

13. Breaking the unions...is the goal...and hire back scabs as needed

so they can manipulate and offer slave wages with no benefits...as so many American industries & corporations have done...Breaking unions means more profits for the stockholders...Fuck what's fair or right! They see it as sound business practice...