“All of the North American factories will resume production at some point this quarter.” That’s the reassuring bit from GM’s spinmeister re: GM’s expected announcement that it’s trimming North American production. Again. Still. The bad news: GM will cut about 2k jobs at two plants and plans periodic shutdowns at about half of its 16 U.S. factories. The good news– at least for United Auto Workers members– “cut” does not mean “out of the street” by any stretch of the imagination. Now the cynical amongst you will join me in thinking that the “resume production at some point” sop is aimed at Congress and the freshly elected President, to convince theses bestowers of federal largess that the bailout bucks WILL support American manufacturing jobs. You know; as the $13.4b was supposed to do. I mean, it’s slightly embarrassing to ask for more money to protect jobs when no one’s actually working. So it’s best to suggest that production will resume you know, later. (Or as my RSA-raised wife likes to say “later soon.”) And if you think I’m guilty of hyperbole (perish the thought), here’s GM PR Chris Lee’s reasoning for the slow down/shut down [via Automotive News]: “Nobody was able to buy any cars,” he said, referring to the credit crunch that has deepened the U.S. recession while dragging vehicle sales to 26-year lows.” Yup. No question. That sucks.
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“Nobody was able to buy any cars”
Well, plenty of people bought other manufacturer’s cars (read “foreign”), just not GM’s.
And let’s see, do we really want people with poor credit buying new cars? Oh, I guess we do. The “credit crunch” should be called a “credit correction”, because people with good credit do not have trouble borrowing. It’s the people who ought not to be borrowing who no longer can.
I’m not so sure about Chrysler or Ford, but when will GM stop cutting jobs?
Work with me here. Many companies are announcing massive jobs cuts in one hit.
i.e: Corus: 3500, Caterpillar: 20000, ING Groep: 7000.
Yet, GM seems to be doing it by attrition (a couple of thousand here and a couple of thousand there). At what point are they going to say “Enough job cuts, now let’s work on the line up”?
I don’t know why GM are doing their employment adjustment like this? Surely it would make more sense to do it one hit?
And before anyone says it, yes, I know GM are adjusting to a falling market, but everyone else is adjusting in one hit, why can’t GM?
Oh well, they must know what they’re doing…..
(bursts out laughing)
I don’t know why they “announce” stuff
like this at all. I’m sure the other 2
domestics are doing the same, but they
don’t announce it. Ford has been culling
the salaried workers for the past month
(read “death by 1000 paper cuts”). They
should be done by Wednesday but you don’t
hear a word.
Tedious. As in “I find GM’s inability to recognize, let alone speak, the truth to be rather tedious.” I guess when you pull down the outrageous compensation that these knuckleheads do you are able to suspend your own disbelief and credibility and just put it out there! Sell, baby, sell!
The other question that has been gnawing at me about this issue: will the automakers on the U.S. government’s dole restart production at U.S. factories before those in Canada and Mexico? Similarly, Will they move production from those factories to the U.S.? I’m definitely not advocating for such a policy, but it would certainly seem to undercut a portion of the argument for the bailouts (i.e., “saving American jobs”) if the answers to those questions are no. Granted, there is an argument that U.S. based suppliers benefit from production in Canada and Mexico, but still.
Some other random thoughts/questions on the possible demise of the domestic automakers: 1) What will the gendarmes drive if the domestics go under? Seems like anything that would meet police force requirements from other manufacturers would be prohibitively expensive compared to Crown Vics, etc. 2) Has anyone else noticed an increasing number of the new Chevy Malibu in taxi livery on the streets? I’ve seeing lots and lots of them on the streets in Las Vegas and, to a lesser extent, DC. Doesn’t seem to bode well when one of GM’s “hits” is being relegated to fleet sales. It’s odd, as the Malibu does seem to be a very good car in its class.
20,000 at Caterpillar. Geez. When the Bailouts stop, the most viable companies that probably really did deserve help are going to fall.
“Nobody was able to buy any cars”
Well, plenty of people bought other manufacturer’s cars (read “foreign”), just not GM’s.
Yup. I bought a diesel car, something Detroit doesn’t make available on this side of the pond.
And if you think I’m guilty of hyperbole (perish the thought)
The thought has not only failed to perish, but it’s thriving like kudzu!
:-)
@gslippy
Well, plenty of people bought other manufacturer’s cars (read “foreign”), just not GM’s.
Wrong.
Read the numbers.
Totally off topic, but the picture makes me laugh: I have a bottle of that tequila (in the Anejo variety) sitting in my liquor cabinet right now! It’s a red bottle as opposed to the blue.
I highly recommend the Anejo it if you can find it! But don’t you dare mix it… savor it slowly. Please.
Now back to your regularly scheduled programming…
A little off topic myself, but I’ve been reading a bit more about Catepillar’s 20,000 job cuts.
It seems they’re suffering from the Wall Street short sellers/criminal gamblers as well which just might cause a “credit event” for them.
Honestly, the USA is finished.
EDIT: It was on Bloomberg just a minute ago but the link is not working for me sorry.
Pete, look for a lot more of these “credit events” as the banksters continue to wreck our economy and way of life.
I wrote off our country and knew we were “finished” on October 7th, the day the Powers That Be handed $700 billion (plus more later plus more later plus more later) to the banksters without any oversight at all. Even when 90% of the population said “NO WAY!” Obviously, the “representatives” in Washington don’t represent US any more. Just their cronies.
Just think about that for a moment and let it all sink it. 7/10ths of a TRILLION DOLLARS. FIRST INSTALLMENT. NO OVERSIGHTS. NO TRANSPARENCY.
Now, the same criminal seditionist mindset which got us all into this mess, are not only trying to put out fire with gasoline, they are crying for more gasoline to douse the fire!
More trillions! More bailouts for billionaires! (by a party which claims to have the interests of the working folks at heart – wrong; they have NO HEARTS).
More make-work or no-work for ne’er do wells, layabouts and special interest groups! (i.e. folks who generally voted for “them”).
In other words, same o same o, just a different conductor in charge swinging to a slightly
‘change(d)’ different beat. Whoopdy frickin doo.
As for how bad this can all get, well, try doing some online news searches about things by bypassing the mainsteam media (lamestream media?) and understand that all over the world, people are rioting about this stuff. Iceland’s economy has evaporated and people are rioting; riots in Greece, Mexico and other countries are becoming pandemic; the “powers that be” worldwide are starting to lose their grip. Anarchy is the probable next step, even in the US.
It isn’t just the United States that’s “finished”.
Therefore, there’s nowhere to run & hide, folks.
The best (worst) summary I read was someone who was alarmed at the entire process and overheard one of his co-workers saying “I don’t need to put up food. I just need my guns so I can take what I want from those who put up food.”
Do you suppose that when the good police officer’s check bounces and he can’t afford food or gas to get to work anymore, that he’ll bother showing up to work to defend your little food stash?
Look at the state of Californication – it’s so broke that even welfare recipients are going to be “shorted” on their checks, and state tax rebates – are going to be IOU’s!
A whole shipload (Titanic?) of not good.