I'd be willing to bet that they'd be able to put out the same or more product with 80-85% of their current employees and a little over time. OT is time and a half, but you're still only paying benefits on 4 people for every 5 you used to, which seems to be the big issue here.

I'd look for GM to use this to their advantage in contract negocations by telling the UAW they'll be able to hire more employees if they can cut benefits a little.

 

What a load of bull. You are right, though, buying those cars does not help our economy as much as buying american cars. But do you propose paying more out of your own pocket just to support the economy? Not only will you fail in the long run, because you will not convince the majority of population to do it, you will hurt the economy of your household.

 

You will also take food from the mouth of the Americans that work at the plants here.

 

But, does it really?

I don't think it says that. Think about other recent announcements of refocusing Pontiac/Buick/GMC into niche brands with Chevrolet and Cadillac being their bookends in the economy and luxury ends of the spectrum. All it could mean is trimming the fat and focusing on what is selling well, and what they can continue to sell well in a more streamlined GM.

Its not entirely unlike what happend to Chrysler, except that they needed the US government to bail them out. GM isn't there yet, and it appears today's announcements may not require such drastic measures.

 

Actually, buying Toyotas and Hyundais DO help our economy...... as long as you're buying the ones that are made here.

 

Do you write speeches for G.W.?

 

As bad as the job cuts are, I'm more worried about GM's announced intentions to source more components from overseas. The job losses from that could go way beyond the 25K lost jobs at GM.

How long until people stop perceiving GM as an "American" company? A few more auto-supplier plant closings here in the Midwest and I can see a consumer rebellion against those automakers who take their business overseas. I hope the slim savings they get from their Chinese parts is enough to offset the lost sales from everyone who gets kicked to the curb, but I betcha that won't be the case.

 

This worries me much more than anything else. Especially considering China's economic stability. My friend Spencer was in China for approximately 4 months, and saw probably 80 percent of the country. From what he said, and from what I know, I cannot see their economy surviving for another 10 years at the pace it is moving or anywhere near it.

When poeple outsource all this crap to China and then the baht(spelling?) collapses, where will GM be.

 

Nope, but I do actively worry about the working class in America. US manufacturing workers are a dying breed.

 

This has been a topic I used to be strongly in favor of the US Manufacturing Jobs; but in the last 6 months to a year I've had even more chances to travel to different manufacturing facilities with my job and let me tell you we have done it to ourselves. Unions or not; the American workforce is LAZY.

I think GM is shaving these 25k jobs with some outsourcing to Korea, etc... This is not really a bad thing. It will definitely help GM be more competitive. We need to focus on a "Global Economy" (Wow; that's completely oposite from my views 6 months ago, lol). If we try to think there is no way anybody else in the world can be as good as the US; we will lose out and fast. A move to a "Global Economy" will be good for everybody and I think GM is moving towards that.

I would expect GM to improve in South America, Asian, European countries. If they can steal market share over there, that would be great for GM. Start thinking "GLOBAL MARKET SHARE" not /just/ the USA.

 

For being lazy, we work the most hours of any idustrialized nation and have the highest production.

 

I saw figures of 1/3 GM's overall sales come from someone associated with the company.. So if GM starts laying off mass workers, putting related manufacturing jobs overseas, this might hurt GM in sales numbers just for the fact 1/3 of GM's customers also have an interest in th ecompany directly.

Correct me if I am wrong ont he 1/3 thing.. I read it somewhere but do not now for sure if it is bunk.

On that note GM needs to layoff a bunch of workers, their market share dictates this.. Sucks all around.

 

And with that being said at a Quality loss. There has been studies decreasing number of hours worked has a direct impact on product quality. A flaw in American Manufacturing.

There are good facilities here in the US of coarse. But there are just as many bad facilities. Typically I have found that the smaller companies with a smaller workforce tend to have better all round employees, but also have more direct management over their heads. The larger companies is where I have found more of the "lazy" worker.

Example of Lazy American Factory Worker:

1) Gets his cup of coffee in the morning (make it 3).
2) Starts his daily jobs off working at a Snails pace.
3) Cigarette Break
4) Machine breaks down; the guy in control of this machine could use some help, but It's not my job so I won't help.
5) Cigarette Break
6) Toilet Break
7) Lunch
8) My machine breaks down, damn... Could somebody help me???
9) Bitches because he has to work
10) Cigarette Break
11) Line shuts down due to machine not fixed yet
12) Goes home. Bitching and smoking a Cigarette.

heh

 

That's the BIG part!

People on the assembly line are making money no matter if they are assembling cars here for GM, Ford, or Hyundai. UAW members layed off get pretty handsome packages, probally the best of any industry. So the idea of work moving overseas by buying foreign brands doesn't hold water as long as they make their brands here.

The real problem is foreign sourced parts. Many of these foreign makers import parts from their country, and now our own makers are doing this as well, and will even moreso in the future.

 

And that, my friends, is the state of the U.S. today. We don't care where our products come from...all that we care about is whether we save a couple bucks by buying a product made overseas versus here. And people wonder why the economy is in the toilet, and that the only way people seem to make any real $$ right now is not in the stock market, but through real estate investment.

Wait until that bubble blows up