And that $60m does NOT include Bill Ford's deferred tens of millions. Anyway, United Auto Workers (UAW) Boss Big Ron Gettelfinger is not well pleased with Ford suits' '07 compensation– given his members' buyouts, two-tier wage deals and all. Automotive News [sub] gives the inside skinny on FoMoCo exec compensation for their five top talents and it certainly seems a touch… generous. Ford CEO Al Mulally is the conductor on the bank laughter express, pulling down $21.7m including "salary, bonuses, company-recognized expense for stock options and other stock awards, plus other compensation such as vehicle and travel expenses. CFO Don Leclair was Ford's second-highest paid executive, earning $11.7 million in total compensation… Americas President Mark [Tool Time] Fields was paid a total of $8.4 million. That included $1.3 million in salary and $2.9 million in incentive bonus awards." Apparently, Gettelfinger considers the pay-outs "excessive and unjustified." Well, The Blue Oval Boyz did lose $2.7b during the payment period. 

GM is stuck in an HR revolving door, as it rehires previously laid-off workers to fill spots vacated by employees who are taking buyout packages. The Free Press reports that the latest switcheroo is taking place at Lansing's Delta Township plant, where workers who lost their jobs when the third shift was axed in January are being called back to work. The shift had been closed due to parts shortages for the Enclave/Acadia/Outlook crossovers, but workers who lost their jobs could be back at the plant by June. The number of rehires depends on the number of current employees who accept buyouts. "It's really hard to say how many that will be," says Doug Rademacher, president of plants UAW Local. "I've got to believe it could be a few hundred." Rehiring laid off workers is the right thing to do morally, but with the division of core/non-core jobs still under negotiation in the new two-tier wage scheme, it remains to be seen how much money all this three-card Monte actually saves GM.

As spring blossoms in beautiful Detroit, Volt Reality Syndrome is starting to kick in with a vengeance. The latest victim is UAW President Ron Gettelfinger, who tells Reuters "When GM brings out that electric car, they're going to be taking a huge loss on that for a number of years." Of course reality is kind of Gettelfinger's thing. "Everybody is racing to get there, but there are some tough issues and cost is definitely going to be an issue for the consumer," says Ron, of the brave new hybrid/alt energy future. "It's pretty clear to me that, if it's not technically feasible and economically feasible, then you're not going to get there from here." Bold words from a bold man, but where's the proverbial beef? Whither the future, Mr. Gettelfinger?  "There's nothing like the internal combustion engine," says Ron. "We've got 100 years with that baby." Although Gettelfinger comes across like your great-uncle who's convinced that they never should have done away with lead paint or child labor, he actually has a decent point. Most cars on the market could be made significantly cleaner and more efficient without resorting to complex hybrid drivetrains.

One hundred forty laid-off American Axle workers returned to work Tuesday in response to a letter sent to them by the company telling them if they didn't, they'd lose benefits. Workforce Management reports the workers did as ordered– and immediately went on strike, joining the UAW picket line outside the plant. Union members from other factories also joined the strikers in protest of AA's weekend ad looking for replacement workers. American Axle mouthpiece Renee Rogers wouldn't say how many workers they were hoping to recruit to replace "associates who will take buyout and attrition programs." She also didn't comment on the ad's statement the applicants could be used "in place of employees involved in this strike" but she did say the negotiations were "moving ahead slowly." The UAW had no comment.

American Axle has blinked. After adamantly refusing to turn financial info over to the UAW as part of the negotiating process, AA finally acquiesced and provided the documents to the union. The Detroit News quotes UAW VP James Settles saying they need the information to "to make important decisions regarding proposals which will affect pensions, health care (and) profit-sharing" (i.e., "we want to see how badly they were bullshitting us when they demanded pay and benefit cuts"). He also said they were looking at the information to make sure the company gave them everything they'd requested, so this still may not be enough to precipitate a return to the bargaining table any time soon. In the meantime, GM's VP of vehicle sales, Mark LaNeve isn't worried: "We have more than adequate inventory to meet market demand. This is where we intended to be." With over a quarter million pickups still in stock, you have to wonder where they'd be if the strike hadn't closed the factories.

Ford confirmed yesterday that $16.5m in bribes public money from the province of Ontario was a crucial factor in its decision to reopen the Essex Engine plant in Windsor, Ontario. The Toronto Star reports that Ford says it will expand the Windsor reopening to include a further 300 jobs, but only if the Canadian federal government makes with more pork. "We are not able or willing to move forward with the second phase of the project until we can find resolution to all the issues we have outstanding with the governments," said FoMoCo group VP Joe Hinrichs. Translation: we won't add more output without more federal assistance input. For perspective, some 900 jobs were lost when the factory was shuttered by Ford in November, 2007. Naturally, CAW President Buzz Hargrove is lending his considerable extortion negotiating experience to the project, arguing that the 300 additional jobs would surely be worth a few mil in taxpayer lucre. The sad part? With Canada's manufacturing sector in the statistical scrap heap, Ottawa just might go for it.

GM may have hit their breaking point in the UAW-American Axle strike. Automotive News [sub] reports The General is moving "a small but important parts contract" from American Axle (AA) to Dana Holding Corp. The contract is for 30k prop shafts for light trucks which Dana says they can start supplying "in a matter of weeks." Given the volume of parts GM needs to keep their factories running, a contract for 30k items doesn't sound like much and in the grand scheme of things, it isn't. But it does represent a warning shot across AA's bow, letting them know their biggest customer isn't happy and they aren't the only parts supplier in town. Now that AA stands to lose contracts because of the strike, you can bet CEO Dick Dauch will take action, most likely shifting more production to Mexican plants.

Automotive News [sub] reports that the strike at American Axle (AA) will soon claim its 31st and 32nd factories: the Orion and Fairfax plants that manufacture the Chevrolet Malibu and Pontiac G6. "GM is fast running out of an American Axle-supplied knuckle used in the rear suspension of the Malibu and Pontiac G6 sedans, said Mike Dunn, shop chairman of UAW Local 5960. The local represents some 2,900 hourly workers at GM's Orion (Mich.) assembly plant. The plant makes about 1,000 G6 and Malibu sedans per week. Dunn said a shortage of the knuckle also will shut GM's Fairfax assembly plant in Kansas City, Kan., by mid-month." As predicted, the AA strike's impact has spread from GM's slow-selling SUVs and pickups to cash-flow critical cars; the Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant (Buick Lucerne and Cadillac DTS) stopped operations today. You've got to wonder: is this the bus GM didn't see? And if so, why not?

Bloomberg reports that Ford is investing $165m in its Essex Engine plant in Windsor, Ontario.  The plant, which has been shuttered since November, will produce an unnamed new Ford engine, and will return 300 jobs to the province. The plant refurbishment was made possible by a $16.5m investment by the Ontario provincial government, or about $55k per job created. Although Ford refuses to comment on exactly which engine will be produced at the plant, timing seems to indicate that the new EcoBoost line of turbocharged, direct-injection engines could be a prime candidate. With the first EcoBoost V6 set to debut as an option on the Lincoln MKS in 2009, and planned as an option across the Ford line aimed at lowering fleet fuel consumption, this EcoBoost is a rare investment at a time when Ford is trimming its manufacturing profile. The Canadian Auto Workers have been angling for a Ford engine project for some time, although CAW President Buzz Hargrove hinted that a fuel-efficient 5-liter engine might be in the works for Windsor. Whatever the engine, this is big news for the CAW, which lost a quarter of its D3-employed membership in the last three years alone.

For the first time since WWII, UAW membership has dropped below half a million hardhats, reports the Kansas City Star . The news comes from a Labor Department filing, which shows that the union was down to just 464,910 members by the end of 2007, compared with 538,448 at the end of 2006. This continues a trend of decline for the union since membership peaked in 1979, at 1.5m dues-paying members. Many of the losses can be tied to the dismal performance of the Detroit automakers, who have been cutting jobs, closing factories and buying out workers in hopes of returning to profitability. With American automakers tanking and taking their membership with them, the UAW is trying to rebound by targeting the North American factories of Toyota and Honda. But the transplants have carefully avoided building plants in union strongholds, and have thus far held off attempts to unionize their American factories. And no wonder. Although the UAW has done well by its members over the years, its colossal pension liabilities and uncompetitive approach to wages have been an undeniable factor in the decline of Detroit.

Human Resource Executive Online points out that the new Detroit "easy-fix" of buying out workers with pension-fund money might not be the greatest strategy ever. Chrysler and GM have both recently offered worker buyout packages, with money from overfunded pension accounts. The strategy is attractive, as workers can defer taxes on pension fund payouts to their 401k accounts, and corporate can keep their cash position intact. But overfunded pension accounts never stay overfunded for long, and observers say that intense market volatility makes now a bad time to risk underfunded pension liabilities. "The [Chrysler] fund is probably overfunded because of the over-inflated value of the stock or securities that have been invested," says Gerald Myers, business professor at the University of Michigan and former chairman of American Motors. "Now that the stock market and the real estate market is [sic] going down, it's not unlikely [the pension fund] will be underfunded in short order." Meanwhile, labor relations consultant Bill Adams of Adams, Nash, Haskell & Sheridan believes that buyouts in general merely mask major workforce problems. "The automaker is stomping on the ants, and the bears are walking off with the picnic," says Adams. "They can't dump the relationship with the UAW [so] they're going out of business and delaying the inevitable." Man does that truth hurt sometimes.

An interesting "help wanted" ad appeared in several cities' papers yesterday: "Employment offered to applicants responding to this advertisement will be to fill anticipated attrition replacement openings after negotiations or in place of employees involved in this strike." [Emphasis added.] You guessed it– the ads were placed by American Axle. CBC News reports the company ran the ad in cities where they have a plants which have been shut down by the UAW strike. Of course, the official AA party line, as espoused by spokeswoman Renee Rogers is: "We expect that once an agreement is reached with the UAW a significant number of associates will participate in buyouts and early retirements. We are currently preparing a pool of potential new associates." The auto supplier also sent letters to workers who were laid off before the strike began, asking them to come back to work. The UAW responded by calling for a mass picket today outside AA's headquarters. Meanwhile, there's no apparent break in the impasse between labor and management; their full negotiating teams haven't met since March 10.

The United Auto Workers (UAW) strike against American Axle (AA) will claim its second automobile plant next week. In addition to the Cobalt/G5 plant, Automotive News [sub] says the strike threatens GM's Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant (Buick Lucerns, Cadillac DTS). Buick probably won't mind the shutdown; they're in the same boat as Chevy and GMC with a 100-day supply. Cadillac isn't in quite as good shape, with a 59-day supply of DTS'. Automotive analyst Erich Merkle doesn't think losing a second car plant will be enough to get GM involved in the strike settlement. "It's a little bit of an 'ouch,' but it's certainly something that's survivable. GM could still probably afford to stand on the sidelines a little while longer." While the strike is a relatively inexpensive (and entirely blameless) way for GM to reduce bloated inventories, keep in mind that the American automaker counts a "sale" when a vehicle leaves the factory. When the new quarter starts (April 1), the strike will whack The General's bottom line. That means interceding in the strike, encouraging AA to ramp up offshore production or facing Armageddon. If (and most probably) when production restarts and GM begins channel stuffing replacing inventory, you can bet they'll crow about record production and sales for that quarter. 

Dick Dauch plays for keeps. The Detroit Free Press reports that the American Axle CEO has no qualms about taking his business elsewhere. Dauch, who founded the company, said he had no intention of turning it into an offshore company. HOWEVER "we have the flexibility to source all of our business to other locations around the world, and we have the right to do so." When the Freep asked the UAW for their thoughts on Dauch's threat, they declined to respond. But a couple of weeks ago on a radio talk show,  UAW president Ron Gettelfinger insisted as long as AA maintains "the attitude that they're not going to negotiate– that they're going to dictate– we're not going to get an agreement."  Meanwhile, the strike is beginning to affect those GM plants they can't afford to close. The pressure is on for AA to get back to work, one way or the other. So who will blink first? Given that Dauch has already moved some production to a plant in Mexico and has the means to increase production in other countries, and the UAW gave in to the Big 2.8 so easily, the smart money's on the union backing down. And GM forking out.