GM Buys Out 19,000 Workers, Time to Get Lean and Green
About one quarter of GM’s blue-collar workforce of 76,000 accepted buyouts to leave their positions, the automaker announced today. These workers who were earning an average $28 per hour could be replaced by new workers starting at half that much. These generally older workers will vacate by July 1st.
The fact that lower wage and less numbers of workers would be coming in should lead to significant cost savings for GM. The cost of the buyout hasn’t been revealed yet by GM, but analysts believe it could lead to a net $2.1 billion annual savings as only about 4,000 new workers may be hired.
Due to the slowing economy and dramatically rising oil prices, vehicle sales are way down for all automakers, and there has been a dramatic an unprecedented shift from trucks to cars. GMs total sales have dropped 12% in the first four months of this year compared to last, whereas truck sales have dropped an even greater 18%.
Recently having gotten a vote of confidence from the board, GM CEO Rick Wagoner will be announcing GM’s second quarter numbers and plans for shifting production from truck to cars at next Tuesday’s annual shareholders meeting. To his credit, he has actually achieved $9 billion in annual savings for GM since 2005.
Let’s also not forget GM is a major global player, and despite the problems in the U.S. market, profit in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia Pacific have doubled 1st quarter 2008 compared to 1st quarter 2007, and GM Europe profit was up nearly 20-fold in the same period.
And even though oil prices are likely a frothy slippery bubble, this is a wake up call, and the time has for GM to get lean and green.
Despite the storm, the Volt project moves on full bore, and with an open wallet, steadfastly heading the 100 year-old automaker into their next century of automaking.
Sources (Bloomberg) and (Detroit Free Press)
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74 Responses to “GM Buys Out 19,000 Workers, Time to Get Lean and Green”
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May 30th, 2008 at 12:18 pm
Yes, GM is making ALL the right moves. Don’t forget that Wagoner himself went over to China to pitch GM products, especially the fuel cell version of the Volt.
May 30th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
I guess this is also a wakeup call for the unions that if they don’t begin to fall in-line and allow GM, ford and Chrysler to become competative there may no union jobs at all. I think that GM knows now that this savings will al go directly into development for new models especially ones with e-flex systems in them.
May 30th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
“The cost of the buyout hasn’t been revealed yet by GM” — look for it at the annual meeting next week.
As was mentioned in the last thread, this is the result of a ‘older’ decision to buyout employees months ago…however the paychecks go out this quarter so GM is moving in front of the news.
It is actually more than they initially targeted 12-15K. Which is good…however the market is even worse now, so look for further ‘restructuring’ at the meeting. Certainly reducing truck shifts is a given (and possibly foreshadowing of which plants will be shuttered) and trying to move some workers to cars…and getting rid of another 5-7K possibly.
“Despite the storm, the Volt project moves on full bore, and with an open wallet, steadfastly heading the 100 year-old automaker into their next century of automaking.”–waxing a little poetic today Lyle?
The only news we can believe/trust/rely on as to the Volt’s future existance/production is how much cash GM has left.
Money talks.
May 30th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
While I feel for those workers, I’m sure that a fair offer was made to them. We all need to tighten our belts. I’ll take this as another sign that GM is serious about moving forward in a responsible, unwasteful manner. I’m not worried about how this will effect the Volt development.
May 30th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
So does this mean a net reduction of 15,000 UAW jobs? If so, I bet UAW Inc isn’t too happy.
May 30th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
I hope a lower paid workforce does not effect build quality of GM vehicles.
May 30th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
Pat #6, Well the higher paid workers didn’t do much good for high quality. (Ouch, I’m going to get spanked for that comment).
May 30th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
The Volt project moves on….
May 30th, 2008 at 12:49 pm
I read elsewhere that GM was going to layoff white collar positions within GM, not offering any buyouts. I think it is sad to do that to non-union employees, while they take better care of the union workers, unless GM is overdue to lose some dead weight. I suspect a project like the Volt (and other initiatives) has revealed a lot of problem employees, who may need to be encouraged to pursue other careers.
May 30th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
#2 Sean
I think your wake up call was set for “pm” when you wanted ”am.” I’ll bet unions are already awake with regards to GM’s financial situation.
#5 Paul-R
I doubt anybody is happy about the curtrent situation. UAW negotiated buy out terms long ago. I’m sure they have already accepted the harsh reality.
May 30th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
The wire service story on this yesterday noted that the equivalent work force was 119,000 in 2006, before the last round of buyouts. So the total reduction is now approaching 50%.
I used to work at a place where frustrated management employees would occasionally say “Let’s lay everybody off and then quit.” Now there’s a way to save some real money.
Or build the Volt in Korea or Mexico. GM executives could continue their comfortable upper class lifestyles in Grosse Pointe Woods, or wherever they live, and not have to deal with the irritating US workers with their stupid pretensions to middle class living standards.
We have heard a lot here recently about Saginaw. Do any of you Michael Moore fans remember Flint? Two words - Kevin Phillips.
At least when this whole thing goes to its logical conclusion I will be able to get over my quaint loyalty to GM and buy a Japanese car with a clear conscience. I hope.
May 30th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
It appears that GM is finally ready to begin making the hard choices it will have to make in order to stay competative.
I’m expecting another of those “chairman of the board” posts anytime now, bemoaning how Gm is in its final days, and warning the “executives” to get out now.
I wonder if the Volt will have cupholders ? My God, they can’t forget the cupholders ! (LOL)
May 30th, 2008 at 1:13 pm
They should be replacing those workers with software engineers, electricians, battery experts, etc.
May 30th, 2008 at 1:13 pm
# 7 Rashiid ;
I’m not a genius when it comes to manufacturing but I did see that a lot of these positions will be where robotics takes over. If so I think you will see a very high level of quality in their autos when this happens.
Have a good weekend.
Tom
May 30th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
I prefer to consider GM’s best case potential - exporter of mild hybrids and E-REV’s to the world. This is an achievable goal, considering GM is currently hitting all their short-term marks.
May 30th, 2008 at 1:23 pm
#12 Terry K
I predict a LOT of cupholders in the \Volt. They are going to need some way to “decorate” the huge hump in the middle of the car (They’ve already said they had to move the front seats outward for an even bigger center hump than usual). I’m expecting the center console to be bristling with cupholders and something like a tray table between the rear seat footwells, as well. And if the rear seat is “bench style” then there will be a huge amount of unseatable space between the rear 2 outter seats. Probably another fold down seat back there with… more cupholders!
Hmm, now that I really think about it I really AM curious how they’re going to deal with all that hump-induced empty space in the center of the car!
May 30th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
#6 LESS PAY = LOWER STANDARDS = LOWER QUALITY = DEE DE DEE (CARLOS MENCIA) MAYBE THEY CAN HIRED BACK TO BUILD THE VOLT! i DON’T WANT SEE PEOPLE LOSE THERE JOBS.
May 30th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
Cupholders are old school. On-board beverage dispensers are the way to go. Slushies, coffee, soda, maybe even water, straight from a dispenser, through a tube, to your mouth. You can buy syrup or beans at Costco.
May 30th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
AUTOMATION IS THE NAME OF THE GAME !!!!
May 30th, 2008 at 1:40 pm
Less pay <> lower standards + lower quality.
Poor work ethic = lower standards + lower quality.
Poor management = lower standards + lower quality.
I don’t want to see people lose their jobs either.
I also want the Volt to be priced for the masses.
The poor are suffering way more than those that are making over $100K on this site. Although I am one of them, I will NOT buy a Volt unless it is priced for the masses. In that way, I will stand shoulder to shoulder with them (so to speak)
May 30th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
FYI…Did a little digging and best year I could see on record, the UAW membership peaked at 459,000.
#15 Jason
Exporter of mild hybrids and E-Revs might be their best shot, (along with the SUV/bling line which is declining, but it is still where they make the money…just not enough).
However, they simply do not have the infrastructure and the market is not mature enough to have hybrid/e-rev supporting them in the short term (next 5 years).
GM needs year-over-year sales increases of 3-4% to just remain solvent. It is impossible for them to service their own debt/committments with anything less. I know it seems wrong to say they need ’sales’ and not ‘profit’ but that is how this deck of cards has been built.
If they can somehow turn it around in a couple years and make a billion dollar even though they have dropped a third of their sales, one might think everything will be ok. The problem is their debts…and the future.
The only reason GM is alive right now is that they are only paying on average about 4.5% on their debt load (some of the more current GM paper is in the 6-8% range as a reflection of their bad credit).
Imagine the burden on the bottom line if/when prime goes back to the historical norm around 9%, with GM paying a premium of +2% , thats 11% … on 180 billion (granted only about 2/3 would be sensitive in the event of a short term spike, rather than trend)…how does GM make a 20 billion dollar interest payment (as well as all the other expenses..like building cars and paying workers) if their revenues keep dropping?
2006 207B sales
2007 181B sales
2008 ??? 160B?
2009 ???
May 30th, 2008 at 1:54 pm
Out of topic but I found this interesting public story on GMNext, could it be our Nasaman ?
Link:
http://wiki.gmnext.com/wiki/index.php/Hey%2C_I_Helped_Design_the_First_Saturn%21
For myself, I think so.
Have a nice day
May 30th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
statik,
You’ve highlighted more work that GM needs to do to get on top of things. My only point is that GM is making all the right moves, so their shot at solvency is looking better and better. I truly believe that GM’s hybrid and E-REV products not only help GM’s prospects, but also helps the economy, which in turn helps future auto sales. Couple this with the rapid build-out of renewable energy infrastructure (windmills, solar thermal, cellulosic ethanol, etc.), and the US economy will be on rock solid footing again.
May 30th, 2008 at 3:25 pm
I see an amazing parallel between today’s GM and the Apple Inc of around 2000.
In 2000 or so (like now), we were entering a recession. Apple (like GM) had been horribly mismanaged for many years. They couldn’t execute anything well. The media had convinced the general public that Apple (like GM) was a lost cause. The recession made things look even worse. Even after Apple (like GM) started making new and innovative products, it took several years for the media manipulation to stop. Eventually public opinion swayed in the other direction, and Apple is now the golden-boy of the PC and music industries.
I think the same could be happening to GM. As others have stated above, GM now seems to be doing everything right. It just takes a long time to repair 20 years of damage.
May 30th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
I just submitted a post that’s sitting in moderation purgatory.
Does anyone know the rules that control moderation? My post contains no profanity, URLs, addresses, etc.
This is a really really annoying feature. I would prefer my post to either be accepted or rejected with an explanation. Lyle probably has better things to do than moderate posts. Not sure when/if this one will make it…
May 30th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
DaveP #16
A good thing to do between the two back seats in the Volt is to provide hook-ups for a child seat. It would be a good place to put one that would not take up a regular seat.
May 30th, 2008 at 4:12 pm
Jean-Charles Jacquemin #22
I think you nailed him. Could not be anyone else. Even sounds like him in his writing style. Well, Let’s don’t claim he has style. It would just go to his head.
May 30th, 2008 at 4:15 pm
Paul-R #24
I submitted one last night with the word w o w (without the spaces) and it went into moderation and has not come out yet. Beats me what the rules are.
May 30th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
#25 N Riley:
You’re right. LATCH available in the center would be something I could really use, too. Although not at the expense of excess cupholders.
I’ve seen center rear seat LATCH done two ways:
1) on smaller cars there’s 4 LATCH prongs, which can be used for either 2 outbound seats or one center seat.
2) on larger cars there’s 6 LATCH prongs which can be used for all 3 positions simultaneously.
Gvien that I have 2 kids and it would be nice to squeeze an extra adult in the car, I hope the \Volt uses setup 2 where LATCH can be used in the center and one of the outward seats at the same time. Then I could get an extra adult in the other outbound seat if needed.
(Although setup 1 could still work, LATCH one carrier in the middle and seatbelt the other carrier in the outbound position. And that wouldn’t cost GM a dime since they have to have LATCH in the car, anyway, presumably for the two outbound seats.)
The only thing that would be bad would be 4 LATCH prongs too widely spaced to latch the carrier in the middle. That’s the sort of thing that would make me curse daily.
I suppose I ought to say something on topic. Way to watch the bottom line, GM. Keep that \Volt coming!
May 30th, 2008 at 5:00 pm
What was the topic of this thread?????
Oh, now I remember, retirement offers to GM workers…
Has anyone really heard what the buyout offer was? I have not heard or been able to find anything on the details.
Just curious.
May 30th, 2008 at 5:02 pm
That nasaman does get around, doesn’t he????
:)
May 30th, 2008 at 5:11 pm
#29 Jim I
It is basically a 3 pronged buyout:
The ‘just get out’ under 25 year guys get the big cheques–140K. The 25-30 year guys get paid up until retirement (30 years) at a reduced rate, then get the full ride pension. I’m not sure how the retirement age guys (30+years) are calculated, it might be flat amount…or some kind of calculation on how many years they have left until 35.
I know the Canadian workers get a similar deal now, but capped at aorund 100K atm…and everyone gets 30K off a GM vehicle.
Side Note: I’m not 100 percent sure of all of these numbers, maybe a US GM employee lurking around the board could give you the exact numbers.
May 30th, 2008 at 5:37 pm
Statik,
Do you still believe that the Volt won’t get built? (stifles a huge sigh)
May 30th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
@22
Yup, Nasaman would get my vote for posting that.
Trust me, I know these things (lol)
May 30th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
GM is not using robots to spot weld the bodies? OMG! That’s like back in the stone age.
Here’s how it’s done when robots are allowed to do it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-J_EzKm_70&feature=related
Here’s how Honda builds some of it’s doors:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=362vMN7Ra4w
May 30th, 2008 at 5:47 pm
22 Jean-Charles Jacquemin, 26 N. Riley, 30 Jim I….
I confess …..you found the story I submitted about 2 weeks ago to GMnext. Let me be clear, I had nothing to do with the Saturn car*, but quite a bit to do with the Saturn rocket (still the most powerful in the world, including Shuttle). Yup, “nasaman” is all over the internet ….and it was there even before it was called the internet or Al Gore invented it (HaHa). Thanks for finding this —I hadn’t seen the article until just now & forgot to include that my motorcycle is “NASA BIKE”, which has the Florida plate “NASA GUY”.
*However I’m trying hard to help GM get the Saturn Plug-in Vue right —i.e., with ~35 mi EV-only range! Sorry for the topic hi-jack —hey, it wasn’t MY fault!
May 30th, 2008 at 5:53 pm
PS: The green 1994 SW-2 Saturn in the photo GM included is a picture they found & it looks identical to mine –wheels & all!
May 30th, 2008 at 6:20 pm
I have to admit that I love the Volt,however the people running the ship at GM are complete idiots including the global warming denier.
Gm doesn’t need to lay off or buy out anyone.They need to get their backsides going and build cars that the public needs not some big fat SUV that gets 8 miles to the gallon…
With 19,000 jobs going the wayside look for GM CEO’s to get a big fat bonus check not that they ever gave a damn about American lost jobs to begin with!
May 30th, 2008 at 6:27 pm
Crows,
Come on, the guys at GM can’t be COMPLETE idiots, or they wouldn’t have come up with the Volt. Would you settle for almost complete idiots? (seriously, we try to avoid the I-word)
May 30th, 2008 at 6:59 pm
#37, Tagamet is right at #38. We only use the “I” word when describing ourselves or Congress, etc. But never GM’s management. Those people work very very hard to make sure the shareholders are happy. If the shareholders are not happy, then the wonderful GM management lays off 19,000 workers, and the shareholders are happy again. Then GM managers get those big fat bonus checks you talked about. Are you getting one of those?
Oh, and the workers that lost their jobs, …well….er……never mind them. The shareholders are happy and the big fat bonus checks went out. These are the two important things.
May 30th, 2008 at 7:03 pm
Note to Lyle: Move Rashid down the waiting list 20 spots (g)
May 30th, 2008 at 7:06 pm
#39 Rashid,
GM did NOT layoff 19,000 - they offered buyouts to ALL of the legacy union workers, and 19,000 ACCEPTED the buyouts. GM plans to layoff white collar workers, NO buyouts offered - are you going to shed a tear for them, or do they have to be UAW before you care?
May 30th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
I love most of the remarks on this tread. Usually, remarks are really harsh on the GM workers. As for the buyouts, if only GM could have done this many years ago, Toyota would not be nearly as big, but I have faith that GM can go back to their old glory day. Keep up the good work GM!!
May 30th, 2008 at 8:11 pm
Crow’s post (#38) is a good example of what I described in my previous post (#24) as the anti-GM bias that’s been partially created by the media.
They have the world convinced that GM only makes overpriced gas guzzlers. GM’s 30+ MPG (highway) fleet doesn’t matter. It also doesn’t seem to matter that Toyota’s landmark vehicle for 2008 is the 13 MPG (city) Tundra. My local Toyota dealer has 23 Tundras on their lot, one of them over $49K. They also have several 13 MGP (city) Sequoias over $50K. They even have a 13 MPG (city) Land Cruiser that’s over $70K. Nope, reality doesn’t matter. Somehow the Prius can erase all that reality. GM can do no right. Toyota can do no wrong. Hummer bad. Land Cruiser good.
Toyota makes a fine vehicle and GM is not perfect, but this double-standard is ridiculous.
May 30th, 2008 at 8:25 pm
Paul-R @44
Well said. My daddy used to tell me “It takes a lifetime to build a good reputation and only a minute to lose it”
May 30th, 2008 at 8:26 pm
Paul-R, #44:
I totally agree, and someone earlier pointed out the parallels to Apple in the late 90’s/early 00’s. Hopefully GM can restore their image as Apple obviously has. I think it’s already starting with the Malibu winning car of the year, GM earning much better initial quality and reliability rankings, two-mode hybrid technology coming to smaller passenger cars in the next few years, etc. Let’s just hope GM can hang on long enough to turn around.
I also agree with Jason, #42. The workers have the choice to either take the buyout or continue working. Nobody is getting fired.
May 30th, 2008 at 9:26 pm
#42, Jason M. Hendler.
I meant is as joke. Tagamet got it.
But you seem to be serious with your question, so I will respond. I don’t shed a tear for union workers or white collar workers who lose their jobs. I shed a tear for anyone who loses their job.
Some of us have been lucky in life. I’m one of them. I don’t struggle financially. But I grew up that way. I feel sorry for people who lose their jobs unexpectedly. I realize the 19,000 were bought out. Like I said, Jason, it was a joke. I didn’t mean to offend you. Are you a union hater by any chance?
May 30th, 2008 at 10:06 pm
Looks like there could be more problems ahead.
http://www.resourceinvestor.com/pebble.asp?relid=43162
Take Care
Arch
May 30th, 2008 at 10:28 pm
PaulR 24
Very well said. Great analogy between apple computer and todays GM.
May 30th, 2008 at 11:02 pm
Crow at #38 did get the last part right. GM execs will get big bonuses for cutting costs. I’m not sure at what point stockholders will wake up and quit paying all execs as if they are all are geniuses. I love what Lutz is doing now, but this is the same guy that sold Chrysler on the Diamler merger, cashed in and checked out.
My wife’s uncle got cut from his job last month. He agreed to ACCEPT his company’s offer of one month of salary. FYI, he has an MA in engineering and is a PE with 20 years of experience. He would have preferred to KEEP his job but he ACCEPTED the severance pay. So Jason at #42 got the ACCEPTED part right, if you consider being told you can take a payout OR you risk a lay-off OR you can watch your friends get laid off as being a fully voluntary acceptance. There used to be a legal term for it too - duress.
May 30th, 2008 at 11:04 pm
Paul wrote: “Crow’s post (#38) is a good example of what I described in my previous post (#24) as the anti-GM bias that’s been partially created by the media.
They have the world convinced that GM only makes overpriced gas guzzlers. GM’s 30+ MPG (highway) fleet doesn’t matter. It also doesn’t seem to matter that Toyota’s landmark vehicle for 2008 is the 13 MPG (city) Tundra. My local Toyota dealer has 23 Tundras on their lot, one of them over $49K. They also have several 13 MGP (city) Sequoias over $50K. They even have a 13 MPG (city) Land Cruiser that’s over $70K. Nope, reality doesn’t matter. Somehow the Prius can erase all that reality. GM can do no right. Toyota can do no wrong. Hummer bad. Land Cruiser good.
Toyota makes a fine vehicle and GM is not perfect, but this double-standard is ridiculous”
———————————————–
Not so fast Paul!
Toyota is on my sh*t list too for building low-mileage cars that help keep us addicted to foreign oil..
Ya have to keep in mind it is “NOT” the workers fault at GM that things are bad.It the fault of leadership because it is they that have made poor decisions leading to their own finiancial down fall…
I never was a big fan of screwing over the American worker just so big business with their multi-million dollars salaried Ceo’s can attain Godhood …
If the volt fails look for GM to outscource every job in North America to China and elsewhere where 85 cent an hour is the norm….
May 30th, 2008 at 11:11 pm
Crows@50
So what’s your solution?
May 30th, 2008 at 11:49 pm
Tagament wrote : “Crows@50
So what’s your solution?”
It really bothers me that Americans loose their jobs through greed,outsourcing,H1-B visa’s while corporate CEO’s are receiving millions.We’ve seen this at Countrywide,ATT and elsewhere just to name a few…
Instead of funding the war in Iraq with close to a trillion dollars we need to fund clean energy which includes electric cars like the volt..and I for one am tired of being the worlds police and using the blood of our soldiers to solve other countries problems that they should solve themselves.
I really want GM to succeed with the volt,but I also want us to succeed with Solar Energy as well…
I hope that EESTOR doesn’t disappoint us because it could start a real energy revolution…
WE need to kick start our energy campaign right now and if we fail to do this it will mean only more problems for us in the future…
Thanks for asking Tagamet!
I welcome your solution as well!
May 31st, 2008 at 12:37 am
“vehicle sales are way down for all automakers”
No, they’re not. Hondas sales are up 0.5% Mazda is up 1.3% DSR YTD.
May 31st, 2008 at 5:53 am
I’m sorry to see the experienced workers leave, and their years of experience with them. I want my Volt built by someone who can do the job.
May 31st, 2008 at 6:10 am
I don’t see anyone complaining about all the UAW workers collecting full pay and benefits for sitting on their ###es while their auto plant is idled.
May 31st, 2008 at 10:07 am
I hope GM is smart enough to keep the door open for a return. When the masses see us driving our Volt’s with a sign saying “I use no gas”, GM will need some workers back to keep up with the demand.
May 31st, 2008 at 11:03 am
Crows@53
Aren’t CEO’s worldwide treated pretty much the same, or do you think that this is just a USA phenomenon?
Anyway, my suggestion is to (Instead of artificially fooling with the market), why not just DO EVERYTHING:
DO all renewables
DO increase supply. If China can drill off Fla, we should be able to too.
DO electrify transportation
DO Nuclear
DO protect natural treasures.
I just don’t see any government intervention that either been efficient or effective. I know, that’s too sweeping, but you seem to be over reaching in the other direction (smile).
Maybe I’m just a child of the 60’s.
Be well,
Tag
May 31st, 2008 at 11:07 am
#33 Tag
“Statik, Do you still believe that the Volt won’t get built? (stifles a huge sigh”
For the record, I 100 percent believe GM will built the Volt.
I think you are referencing my quote “The only news we can believe/trust/rely on as to the Volt’s future existance/production is how much cash GM has left”
What I meant was not as to the Volt’s viability or GM’s committment to build it…I believe they are 100% behind it. What I meant was, you can’t believe the words coming out of their mouth when it comes to their financial well being.
The thing that will tell us if the Volt gets built/continues to get funded/stays in production is if GM has any money left to do it…and doesn’t go insolvent.
Rereading my statement it is a little ambigious, sorry about that.
It’s easier to see viabilty of a company as a investor, rather than a ‘auto entusiast’c. If you HAD invest $100,000 in GM today at $17 (and I have no idea why…maybe your grandfather left it to you with special instructions, lol). Would you worry that you might lose half your money in a week? Yes, for sure. If your money was locked into GM for 3 years, would you worry you would never see your $100,000 again? Probably.
Thats all I meant.
May 31st, 2008 at 11:16 am
Statik@59
You’re the professional business guy (with co-morbidity for terminal pessimism), so I’ll defer to your business smarts.
But don’t you think that WHEN the Volt hits the market that GM stock will soar? As a lay person re stocks, I’d have thought that “Nows the time to buy”
May 31st, 2008 at 12:32 pm
#40 Rashiid Amul:
Well maybe I still don’t get the joke, but I don’t think the stockholders are happy with the stock at $17 this week.
#44 Paul R:
Prius good. No Prius bad.
30+ mpg highway is a shuck. Look at the Consumer Reports website for a realistic listing of the respective city and combined mileages.
#48 Arch:
Awesome link. W O W!
#60 Tagamet:
They can’t make enough Volts to keep the wolf (3 headed dog?) away from the door. Check out the predictions in Arch’s brilliant link referenced above. Unless they have numerous other brilliant innovations lurking in their future product lines, Statik’s predictions seem frighteningly likely to come true.
May 31st, 2008 at 12:34 pm
Well now I typed W space O space W and it threw me into moderation again. The w-word is stricken from my vocabulary
May 31st, 2008 at 12:50 pm
Hi Crows (#51), well it looks like we agree then. I was basing my response on the fact that you wrote GM needs to get their backsides going and build cars that the public needs and stop making big fat SUVs that get 8 miles per gallon. To me, this implied that you thought only GM (not Toyota or the auto industry in general) needed to do this, it implied that you thought GM was not doing enough (despite unprecedented progress/commitment to the Volt over the last year), and it implied that you thought GM only made gas guzzlers (despite their existing 30+ MPG fleet). Sorry for the misunderstanding.
I also agree that CEOs are part of a giant over-payed self-entitlement club. Each member of that inner circle feels they deserve as much as the other members. Millions if they do well and millions if they do crappy. It’s pathetic. If they run a company into the ground, they should get nothing.
I also agree that bad management making bad decisions can stifle the productivity/creativity of even the most brilliant engineers in the world. Good examples would be GM (in the 80’s and 90’s) and Apple (from about ‘85 to ‘98).
May 31st, 2008 at 1:00 pm
Dear Nasman, sorry I’m late today,j the lawn was awful and needed some care.
Thank for your “coming out”, when I was a kid I watched on the T.V; the Saturn rockets take off, it never came to my mind I would some day “speak” to one the their engineers. What a great day.
May 31st, 2008 at 1:01 pm
#61 noel
Maybe we should go to a old thread and just start throwing out words, and random colloquialisms.
#60 Tag
Do I think the stock will soar when the Volt hits the market? Erm…probably not. The only reason it would ’soar’ is if GM is already turning a buck…good news on top of good news I would suspect.
If GM is still losing money/market share, etc. It might give it a couple day bump, but that would be it. 10,000 Volts is such a small piece of the 8 million a year they build. The number would have to be north of 200,000 to have any real impact on the share value I would think.
May 31st, 2008 at 1:36 pm
#65 Statik:
Yeah, it looks like I have gone where you were the other day.
If my “moderated” comment ever comes up, most of it is just about the same reply to Rashiid which you made here. The only consolation I can see is that the “3 headed dog” and its compatriots seem to be out of money as well.
Did you see the link posted by Arch at #48? It is really scary, and supports a lot of what you are saying. It actually prompted me to use the verboten word again.
May 31st, 2008 at 8:58 pm
Arch’s link does paint a frightening picture but it should be viewed with some healthy skepticism. The site looks to me to specialize in rare Earth elements. It’s not surprising they would downplay Toyota’s announcement to develop Li batteries while hyping NiMh. A123 has had products on the market for some time now and there are better sources for information about their technology.
June 2nd, 2008 at 11:45 am
Arch’s link is a stock hype piece for rare earth miners, and like most stock hype pieces is full of distortions.
Statik’s focus on GM’s cash balance is misinformed. In the unlikely event GM goes bankrupt they will simply reorganize under Chapter 11 and continue operating. Just look at the airlines, US Airways filed Chapter 11 twice and is still operating. TWA filed three times before being absorbed into American.
In Chapter 11 GM’s debt and retiree obligations would be greatly reduced. Union contracts will be modified or voided in their entirety. This is one reason GM BK is unlikely, the unions would lose ten times more than stockholders, and are much better served by offering concessions to avoid BK than fighting for crumbs in Chapter 11.
GM’s financial condition is of interest to investors like me but has little to do with the Volt.
June 2nd, 2008 at 5:21 pm
lower pay doesn’t = lower quality. unions = lower quality. thank god they cut themselves mostly free from the strangle hold. those over paid jobs were a nightmare that no company could survive through. i am impressed GM has made it out so cleanly. if they had only jumped on this hybrid band wagon 5 years ago they would be sitting pretty right now.
June 3rd, 2008 at 5:32 am
I wonder if $14/hour workers will be able to afford to even think about buying a Volt?
June 3rd, 2008 at 6:55 am
In order to be at the bottom of the middle class you must be earning around $20 per hour which equates to $41,000 a year at a 40 hour work week. Those of you who think that being paid $20 an hour is a lot of money, think again. It’s not. You would not be able to buy a median priced home in the USA on that salary nor would you be able to afford the Chevy Volt.
Henry Ford understood this when he raised his workers salary to a whopping $5 a day. He knew that this would increase their spending power to enable them to purchase other consumer goods as well as his Model T.
Our CEO’s and Execs have not learned this lesson, nor have they tried. Reducing pay, cutting workers, etc, does not bolster our economy. If you cut and cut and cut your workers there are less available people around with enough income to be able to purchase the very things your company is producing. You’re chopping your feet off in spite of yourself!
June 3rd, 2008 at 11:29 am
#71 Kevin R:
Amen.
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:43 pm
Wrong, thats why you have execs and upper management. when you have unskilled, mind numbing nuts on bolts jobs, you deserve no more than lower middle class. you are also forgetting that at least 50% of the cut jobs are people that sit around and drink on the job and play cards. I once witness a guy @ Ford sweep an 20 x 20 floor for 8 hours because there was nothing else to do. He should be paid minimum wage for that. Lets get serious and not compare Hank’s employees to the rug rats we have today. Yes there are more than a handful of hard working employees but they are getting paid some of the best benefits in the world in addition to making competitive wages.
June 17th, 2008 at 7:53 am
#56 Ozone
What plant is idled and has workers getting paid to sit n their bums? Do you know what idles means? It is a fancy word GM came up when the agreeed not to close any plants so they could close plants.
#69 & 73 Eric
Lets see, you are either managment, were union and were fired or daddy couldn’t get you a job and you are mad that you are not making Union wages and benefits.
Yes there are stupid jobs that Union employees get paid good money for. At the same time with the workers leaving those jobs will be going to the new lower paid workers. Best benefits in the world? Why does the health care get worse with every new contract then?
For those worried about lower quality with the new workers, with GMs contract with the UAW the lower wage workers will not affect quality. They will not be building the cars. The way it is set up there are 2 types of jobs.
1. You are directly involved with the production of the part
2. You are not directly involved with the production of the part
The 1s will be the higher paid workers, the 2s will be the new lower paid workers.
Also as far as the buyouts go. All UAW members were offered the buyouts no matter how much time thay had. There were some that were hired as temp workers after the last buyout and were hired on perm after the new contract. They were able to take a buyout as well under the guidlines of the buyouts. Buyouts were based on the senority of the employee. There were different amounts of money based in the senority of the worker.
Something to remember. The UAW workers that get the bad rap for GMs decisions, don’t make the decisions. They do not choose what cars get built, what engine goes in the cars. The make what the higher ups decide to make. Wagoner and Lutz make more money in one year than any UAW employee will make in 30 years. The UAW member has more to loose than anyone else. They are the onles like you that work to put food on the table, a roof over their families head and hopefully thae ability to pay for their childs colege education. Do you think Wagoner is worried where he is going to get the money to pay for his kids to go to school?
GM has decided to build the Volt in the USA. More specificly the Hamtramick (sp?) plant. My guess is that it is where they can keep the best eye on the car. GM is based in Detroit and this is the car that everyone expects to save the company. It makes since to build the car in the plant that is in Detroit and not China. That is the same reason the engine/generator will be made in the USA.