Here’s an email making the rounds amongst GM’s remaining employees:
Just announced: Now through June 30, 2009, the GM Employee Discount for Friends program* lets you share employee pricing with anyone you know who owns a competitive vehicle. It’s the ideal way to get more friends into GM vehicles.
Here’s how it works:
Active salaried GM employees can request two GM Employee Discount for Friends authorization numbers now through June 30, 2009
For an even better deal, your friends can combine employee pricing with most current incentives.
Sharing your discount is easier than ever. It’s all online – to request your authorization number, just go to gmfamilyfirst.com.
Ready to do a friend a favor – and do your part for GM? Share your GM Employee Discount for Friends today.
* GM active salaried employees can request two (2) GM Employee Discount for Friends authorization numbers through June 30, 2009. Divestitures are not eligible for this program.
You received this email advertisement from GM because you are a registered user of gmfamilyfirst.com.
The marks of General Motors, its divisions, slogans, emblems, vehicle model names, vehicle body designs and other marks appearing in this email are the trademarks and/or service marks of General Motors Corporation, its subsidiaries, affiliates or licensors. ©2009 GM Corp. Buckle up, America! [It’s gonna be a long, expensive ride!]
General Motors Corporation
100 Renaissance Center
482.A00.MAR
Detroit, MI 48265
It seems like just yesterday GM was cracking down on purported “abuses” of the employee pricing program that sound a lot like what they’re encouraging here.
Aren’t discounts on top of incentives one of the reasons GM is where it is? May as well offer everyone the supplier discount too.
You said something about a cocaine habit earlier, Robert. What was that again?
IN addition to this, GM has also announced the “PEP2” program whereby employees can “tag” new vehicles which have been “repoed” from dealerships that have gone T.U. This is something like an addtional 7% off the GMS (employee) price AND it still qualifies from current incentives.
GM Exec: “Here’s the plan guys. We KNOW we have the highest costs in the industry, so let’s sell on price!” I worked for an outfit like that once. I thought it was a losing strategy then, i still think so today.
P.S. That company I worked for went out of business. Couldn’t make any money. Go figure.
“IN addition to this, GM has also announced the “PEP2″ program whereby employees can “tag” new vehicles which have been “repoed” from dealerships that have gone T.U. This is something like an addtional 7% off the GMS (employee) price AND it still qualifies from current incentives.”
Uh, these vehicles have not been “repoed”. They are new unsold inventory. The PEP program has been in existence over 20 years. Nothing new here.
Yesterday, on the GM Sales and Production conference call, I could have sworn Mark La Neve said there would be “no fire sales.”
I thought this meant there would be no blowout price incentives and programs. Uhh… like the above.
Apparently, I was wrong.
I’m now guessing La Neve meant that they would not sell any cars that were actually on fire.
This is pointless. Don’t they just whore out the employee discount to everyone these days? So whats the point of the friend discount, they get it already.
And they are blaming the dealers for driving prices down?
At least the dealers do so at their own expense. GM does so at our expense.
“You know, Mr. Smith, I can see that you’re a man who demands a good deal. Tell you what we’re going to do. I talked it over with the desk – and let me tell you, the manager was none too happy about this, but what we’re going to do is give you the employee pricing. You’ll get the same price as if you worked for GM. How’s that? I can only honor this deal today…”
Oh how good it will feel when GM leadership stops beating themselves over the head with a 2 x 4.
Lack of pricing incentives hasn’t been the reason why GM hasn’t made a profit. I really wonder who at RenCen is running around with their hair on fire demanding more incentives, thoroughly convinced that’ll do it.
Want to know what will move the metal? Drop the MSRP by 30% and you’ll get interest. Sure it will hurt resale, but what does GM care? It likely won’t be around in a few years anyway.
Friends don’t let friends buy GM products.
Employee pricing? How many employees are left, anyway?
From Wikipedia:
“In April 2009, financial analysts at Bernstein Research attributed the collapse on General Motors’ strategy of cutting prices in order to improve sales, instead of cutting its product line, manufacturing capacity and dealer network. As a result every year the company was selling hundreds of thousands cars which quickly appeared on the second-hand market via rental fleets, employee discounts and other means. The Bernstein analysts stated that General Motors was selling vehicles at prices below break-even level, and probably below their marginal costs.”
They just don’t get it.
If they want to move the metal, just giving the employee pricing to friends isn’t going to do it. Throw it out there for everyone, just like what’s been done in the past, and get down to a reasonable amount of inventory. As certain models reach managable levels, remove them from eligibility. Keep Pontiacs and Saturns on the program until they’re gone. Most importantly, idle the damn plants until demand is up again. GM has already pissed away billions, this couldn’t possibly be that much worse. It’s either massive discounts, or cars that never sell. The discounts will likely cost less, and will help out the dealerships.
Would this require that the “friend’s competitve vehicle” is a bigger piece of crap than the GM car? Thats just not possible.
The employee discount shtick has more than worn out its welcome. What was once novel is now old hat and silly.
more of the same old crap that got us into this mess.
Doesn’t this assume that GM employees still admit to their friends that they work for GM ? (sorry)
Actually, this is the DUMBEST idea I’ve heard all day. Anyone who doesn’t currently WORK for GM and pays taxes is PISSED at GM.
To be fair, they should offer free cars to those factory workers they have laid off. Maybe every factory worker who is currently laid off. (Selfishly asking for myself.)
Ouch. A Pontiac G6? Not even GM wants those.
I’m waiting for the “Hyundai Advantage: GM Edition”. Bring your GM Employee Referral authorization number printed from gmfamilyfirst.com into a Hyundai dealer and get an additional $500 off a Hyundai on top of any other incentives you’re eligible for.
Holding inventory is expensive.
mad scientist:
The management cuts have actually been minimal. RF, you need to investigate.
WetWilly, I’d rather own just about any GM product than Hyundai suspension-challenged garbage, including their ‘halo’ Genesis, any day of the week?
Have you driven in that suspension-schizophrenic mobile?
Hmmm…maybe this is my chance for the cheap G8 I’ve been coveting…
“Divestitures are not eligible for this program.”
So no Saabs, right? Or does it mean no Saab employees?
If they were idling plants and taking other steps to reduce inventory and clean up the business, I’d take this a little more seriously. This is just an attempt to turn existing GM employees into Amway reps. If they were serious about this, they would drop the price on every new GM car and stop building new ones until inventory was down to a reasonable level. You know that’s coming soon anyway, so why act like it’s not?
Aren’t all taxpaying US Citizens GM employees nowadays?