No good deed, or lucky bet, goes unpunished. Germany’s auto makers are crying poor at the bargaining table at the same time Porsche-VW is crowing about record gambling profits. Against this background, the AP reports that “IG Metall is seeking an 8 percent raise for the 3.6 million workers it represents in the metal and electronic industries.” Germany’s auto industry has the lion’s share of IG Metall workers. Didn’t the union bosses in Sindelfingen get the word about Automotive Armageddon? Apparently the union guys have taken a page from the Gospel of CEO’s and can only see the massive profits German industry has run up in recent years. “IG Metall has defended its requested wage hike as justified because companies’ profits increased 220 percent between 2004-2007– a time when wages effectively increased by only 8.7 percent– union leader Berthold Huber has also indicated they would accept less.” Ah, the dirty little secret of modern times has been, up until a few months ago, the massive run-up in corporate profits and executive pay happened while workers got next to zero share of the growing pie. When times were good, the excuse for giving little was global competition. When times are bad, the excuse is “can’t afford it.” Meanwhile, the burghermeisters continue to live large and the pain of recession falls on the masses. Tune in tomorrow for more of the same.
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A strike would be the best thing that could happen to the Geman auto industry. They’ve already announced that they have to stop production for a while. With the Union on strike, it wouldn’t even cost them a single cent.
Perhaps GM could have the Saturn/Malibu plant build some Canadian spec Km/Hr cars and slap Opel badges on the Saturn, export them to Europe while the Germans take a “vacation”. Isn’t turnabout fair play?
The Chevrolet Malibu could be sold by Chevrolet (used to be “Daewoo”) dealers in Europe, of course!
Assuming GM lasts the month, I mean.
Germans in matching outfits, marching, and carrying flags – kind of makes me uneasy.
menno,
Astra (is that the Opel you are mentioned) is build in Belgium, with engine coming from Hungary.
Pig_Iron,
I am with you. Perhaps UAW members should dress like that and we can have civilian police Obama promised?
Sounds like another way for Germans to get more vacation time… go on strike.
Yes, I can see the UAW as the official Lord Obama’s Civilian Police (better known as the LOCP). Not only do they back Obama up in votes, but they can also show up at people’s homes to “encourage support” as after all they do have the experience. ;)
autonut I think menno is talking about the Aura since it’s made along with the Malibu. It wouldn’t sell very well since we don’t have all the engine options they offer in europe just a I4 or V6. Can you even get a 5 speed in the Saturn Aura?
Selling the malibu in Europe would be a disaster. Not for the Malibu but because it would show that Chevrolet is American and not Korean. And American cars have a really bad name in Europe
@charly:
I really doubt that. American cars might not have the best reputation in Europe, but I’d say that people know that at least Ford is American and it didn’t hurt them in the least.
I think GM actually made a big mistake when the renamed Daewoo into Chevrolet, because now an American brand is equated with crappy little econoboxes. And people know that Chevy is American, GM tried to sell Chevrolets on that platform…when the Dollar hit an all time low, Chevy used that as an argument to lure people into their showrooms…
Personally, I think that GM shouldn’t have introduced Chevrolet in Europe. Most people there probably thought of big American cars from the 1950s when they heard Chevy and they had a positive perception…now that has changed…and for what? To cannibalize on Opel sales? Doesn’t make a lot of sense…then again, we’re talking about GM here, when did they make sense the last time?
“Germans in matching outfits, marching, and carrying flags – kind of makes me uneasy.”
They look like the Super Mario Bros to me.
No more strike. Deal cut. 2.1 percent from February 1 on. 4.2 percent more starting in May.