http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051118/...tos_gm_jobs_dc

I feel like this guy is running GM into the ground. Obviously it is very hard to run a company like GM, but I feel like he promotes such an "Us vs. Them" attitude towards workers (Management vs. Factory Workers). It seems like GM is always having union problems. Now I'm not going to say that the UAW is all fine and dandy themselves, but I just get a vibe from Rick Wagoner that is not very positive.

Has he actually done anything GOOD for the company?

 

Would Toyota, Nissan, BMW, and Honda be any better off if they had to deal with the UAW?

Wagoner seems to have done as well as anyone could, considering the problems left for him by Roger Smith, Ron Zarella and Smale's brand management fiasco, and the recalcitrance of the UAW.

 

He is restructuring the company. He was partly responsible for the best sales promotion ever "GM Employee Discount." He has got the Union to the table to talk before the current contract is expired and may save a TON of money by doing so. He is streamlining the engineering teams and has started a program to standardize chassis components so that multiple cars on the same platform can be made in the same plant, giving more flexibility when consumers favor one model over another. In addition he has let the desingers loose. He and Welborn will be insturmental in giving designers more control over the product. Not only on exteriors but also interiors. He has a lot on his plate right now but if GM as we know it is to survive short term sacrafices need to be made, not going back to incentives like they are doing and sticking to "Value Pricing."

He has done good and he has done bad, Fiat Fiasco ring a bell.

 

Maybe he gets credit for this, but UAW workers aren't dumb, they know the state of the Company, despite efforts to keep them out of the loop. They don't want more closings, etc, so they made concessions to help relieve the situation. Mistakes made industry wide, plus trade policies, have created this situation, it will be difficult for one man to deal with.

 

Agree 100%. It's the UAW causing 80-90% of the problems at GM. Their wages and benefits are FAR outside the norms for the value of what they do. Wagoner is fixing that

 

The Unions can't take 100% of the blame for GM's problems. Lets be real here guys. GM agreed to all the contracts it has between the UAW and itself. GM was in a different place when this occured so the UAW is being smart and giving concessions when it doesn't have to. The UAW has to look out for itself just like GM has to do. Product and the lack of refreshings has had a VERY dire effect on customer opinion of GM. As has dealer experience. I know a guy that had a 89 Forumula with TTops and the 350. The TTops leaked and the dealer didn't take care of him. He LOVED that car and to this day says it is the most fun car he has ever owned BUT he got screwed by the dealer 1 to many times and blames GM for that. He went to Honda and hasn't looked back since. They haven't given him a reason to look at another car because he has had great service and they offer the cars he wants. That is what it comes down to he found a company that gave HIM what HE wanted and he has NO reason to look elsewhere. If he didn't find what he wanted at Honda then he would look somewhere else. Keep some of this in mind when 80-90% of the blame gets put anywhere.

 

Hmmm, I wonder if Buickman will chime in on this thread?

 

What's your basis???
Autoworkers aren't to be compared with factory workers of say, making household products or something...not even close.

 

Man , I almost feel sorry for ol Rick . Everyone seems to want results this instant . Dont the results of restructuring with a company the size of GM typically take a bit of time before concrete results are seen ? Especially when a big chunk of that re-organazation involves trimming down model line-ups , and a entire host of cars , cross-overs and trucks that are supposed to redefine the company that havent been seen yet . I mean , come on ....I am I wrong to think Wagoner is prematurely taking it up the butt ?

 

With the high pay, and all the benefits UAW workers get, well, they really are paid quite well for what they do. The factory workers don't require a whole lot of skill. And now that GM is having issues, UAW thinks its a good time fight for more. In reality, they should be willing to take less. Maybe if they were more willing to take less, not as many workers would be getting laid off.

 

multi buillion dollar corperations rarely grow when they have industry leading payrolls... its usually the other way around... like wallmart

 

These companies all have unionized workforces in their home countries, so I don't think you can blame everything on the UAW. Also, despite the high cost of labor in Japan and especially Europe, these companies make money by selling desirable cars.

If GM factories were running flat out, and sales were booming thanks to hot product, we wouldn't be hearing anything about the UAW.

 

Rick Wagoner is a wonderful family man, an involved father, and I believe he truly cares about GM. That aside, his record as head of GM is disastrous, therefore he must go. He has allowed Lovejoy, Smith, and LaNeve to virtually destroy GM with ineffective marketing, this in spite of truly competitive products. Let's not forget these are the vehicles promised to us in years past. The engineers, stylists and production people have all fulfilled their responsibilities. Marketing is THE PROBLEM! Return to Greatness solves that problem, if only they would listen and give their top salesman a chance to prove himself. These are NOT only my ideas. I have spent decades listening and developing what WILL WORK. Forget the money, give it a try. What does GM have to lose? Bean counters don't understand customer psychology, I do.

Choose... BK or BM.

 

Ah, there he is.

 

How is a forklift operator lifting and moving pallets of engines any different from a forklift operator lifting pallets of CD players?
GM has never really had a choice BUT to agree. Negotiating with the UAW (up til the Delphi Chapter 11 event at least) has been like 'negotiating' with a mugger who has a gun to your head. And concessions? The 'concessions' made by the UAW so far have been an utter joke, compared to the outrageous windfall they have reaped.
It would be interesting to see, just how profitable these foreign carmakers would be if suddenly we imposed the same kind of tariffs Japan now has in place...