Posted on 11/20/2008 8:24:37 AM PST by Fred
Hey! SPEND LESS, just like your customers have to when things are tight.
I heard something about older workers getting paid to come in and sit at a desk reading a paper. There was a term that was used for it (as I guess its SOP for union contracts)-anyone know what I’m talking about?
Why can’t GM make money on small cars ?
You’re referring to a “Job Bank” where they “park” workers while they “re-tool” factories. Some guys have been “parked”, at full pay and bennies, for over a decade. . .
Okay, this statement:
“Wagoner confesses in his opinion piece that GM has a weaker sales mixessentially, weve sold fewer high-profit SUVs and more lower-profit cars.
doesn’t match this statement:
“Detroit pumped out way too many gas-hog pickup trucks and SUVs meaning, Escalades, Excursions, Suburbans and did little to retool their plants toward what consumers wanted. Thats because Detroit earns much, much more money off of these cars versus smaller cars such as hybrids and fuel-efficient vehicles.”
Or am I misreading?
It is called the “Jobs Bank” and it goes back to the 1990’s.
Union line workers who would be otherwise unemployed when their model car or their plant closes down are given an opportunity to sit at the “Jobs Bank” collecting pay, and they’re supposed to be hired onto a new line/plant when it is opened.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2007-07-23-uaw-talks-jobs-bank_N.htm
The can’t compete on price. Economy cars have low profit margins. Assuming that GM can achieve parity on options, build quality and reliability, what’s left for consumers to base buying decisions on? Styling maybe. Price, definately.
My read is that either the market for high margin vehicles (trucks) evaporated, or GM specifically targeted low margin vehicles for sales growth. Perhaps she's dinging them for not seeing a market shift to econoboxes five years ago, and retooling themselves. Hindsight is 20/10 in the blame fixing game.
LET THEM EAT CAKE!!!
Curious, but if GM files chapter 11 what happens to their stock? Does it get wiped out and they effectively do another IPO? Does it survive?
Their stock becomes worthless. Folks that are owed money will come before the stockholders in bankruptcy.
Note to self: AVOID GM.
they weigh so much due to federal regulated standards. take the Dodge Neon, fairly light weight, it was replaced with the dodge caliber heavy hog. I am told for the neon to meet the new standards it would weigh as much as a caliber. here is another case of the fed gov screwing over car makers.
I'm suprised they haven't moved into the trike market. Gets classed as a motorcycle and immune to CAFE regulations.
A group of U.S. senators has reached a bipartisan agreement on aiding U.S. automakers, said an aide to Democratic Senator Carl Levin of Michigan.
No details are available, Levin aide Tara Andringa said in an e-mail. Levin and colleagues Debbie Stabenow, a Michigan Democrat; George Voinovich, an Ohio Republican, and Kit Bond, a Missouri Republican, scheduled a 2:30 p.m. news conference in Washington.
Congressional leaders haven’t said whether they support the plan, and both houses could run out of time to enact legislation with a lame-duck session due to wrap up tomorrow.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid yesterday refused to schedule floor time to debate a possible Bond compromise plan, though he said today Congress might return in December to finish its work.
``The desire is we complete all of our actions until we come back on Jan. 6, but that may not be possible,’’ the Nevada Democrat said. ``It may be necessary that we come back after Thanksgiving.’’
To contact the reporters on this story: John Hughes in Washington at Jhughes5@bloomberg.net; Jeff Green in Washington at o
Bond’s fingerprints.
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