GM to cut 100 R&D positions at the Warren Technical Center

[vdiv]

This sure does not look good:
http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2...-R-D-positions

According to the article GM has been quietly laying off people for some time.

This is not a good way to keep a competitive edge or employee morale up.

[tangentlin]

Sometimes I worry that GM would follow the fate of Kodak, which fell victim of their own success of an expiring technology

[Zod]

Until you know what they cut, it's hard to interpret. Could be just cutting fat. Could be cutting dead end programs. "Fuel Cell" was the only name dropped in the article; it could signal GM is lowering their bets on fuel cells and in turn hedging more on battery tech.

[Koz]

This may be fallout from a reduced focus on fuel cells or some other tech that is out of favor. I would be very upset after buying a Volt in part to bring $7500 of my tax dollars (not anybody else's BTW) to GM to support further development of Voltec tech if these positions are related.

[Bzzzt]

I'm hoping they're axing the Button Research and Development Group that's responsible for the center console controls.

[Bob_Livonia]

Without knowing exactly who is being let go, there has been debate for a long time whether corporations such as GM should sponsor theoretical research and mathematics for the sake of sponsoring research, or if research should be prioritized toward those efforts that lead to actionable product advancement. I certainly don't have anything against theoretical research and math, but many argue this should be done at universities, and companies rely on the universities when needed, rather than on their own in-house scientists.

"GM spent $8.1 billion on research and development in 2011, up from $6.9 billion in 2010. GM said its R&D efforts include working to create new products or services or enhance products associated with emissions control, improving fuel economy and driver safety, according to its annual report."

If that's the case, any worries are likely overblown. (Now if they could just get rid of the non-value added work and duplication of responsibilities within OnStar ... The Volt is the only GM vehicle that seems to have got OnStar about right.)

[Jason M. Hendler]

About 60 workers who work on fuel cell technology at a GM facility in Honeoye Falls, N.Y., will become aligned with GM's Powertrain division, which is based in Pontiac. The employees will not relocate.

This is news that is actually separate from the rest of the article. As you can read, it is clear that these individuals are not laid off, just folded into GM's Powertrain division, which I take as the natural transition of advanced engineering shifting towards productization. I think this is great news for fuel cell advocates inside and outside of GM. Hyundai is already going to produce 1,000 FCV's by the end of this year (or next - can't remember), so GM, Daimler, etc. are all trying to keep pace.

[petefoss]

I can't give details but it was pretty ugly to go through believe me. Given that this is the third time we have cut R&D in the last few years, there was no fat believe me. The difference this time is those employees have a chance to find a job elsewhere in GM. In the past cuts, people were just walked out the door.

Bottom line, we need to make sure we are researching what matters. If what we invent never makes it into the car or our plants, then it isn't value add to GM. It's only costs. That's the difference with current GM management over the past. They are serious about making money by making car and trucks. Not making cars and trucks, big difference. Painful but necessary for the long term profitability of GM. I've worked for them for over 25 years and I'm excited about the future health of the company. A bit depressed about the present though.

[cmr]

I can't give details but it was pretty ugly to go through believe me. Given that this is the third time we have cut R&D in the last few years, there was no fat believe me. The difference this time is those employees have a chance to find a job elsewhere in GM. In the past cuts, people were just walked out the door.

Bottom line, we need to make sure we are researching what matters. If what we invent never makes it into the car or our plants, then it isn't value add to GM. It's only costs. That's the difference with current GM management over the past. They are serious about making money by making car and trucks. Not making cars and trucks, big difference. Painful but necessary for the long term profitability of GM. I've worked for them for over 25 years and I'm excited about the future health of the company. A bit depressed about the present though.

i have a bad feeling this will lead to more generic products and less forward thinking. lets be honest...... if r&d hadn't developed the ev1 we wouldn't have the volt right now. we can look at the rest of the automobile manufactures offerings and see what we would have had.
i have been in aviation industry for 31 years and state of the art r&d is mandatory for our industry. gm's engineering and r&d departments are the best in the automotive world........ lets hope they are not stepping over a dollar to pick up a dime with us getting outdated products as a result......

[Mathew Hennessy]

If what we invent never makes it into the car or our plants, then it isn't value add to GM. It's only costs. That's the difference with current GM management over the past. They are serious about making money by making car and trucks.

That's actually encouraging if you ask me, I'm kind of sick and tired of hearing about how GM invented everything 20 years before another automaker actually put that tech into production. What's the use of inventing stuff like that only to watch another automaker put it into production and achieve success with it? Even if the tech is premature, it's like once it fails the first review it never gets revisited when circumstances change.

I bet my annoyance is nothing as compared to the engineers and scientists who actually came up with that stuff and watched beancounters put the kibosh on it.