Black Tuesday At GM

Reuters ^ | 3/28/06 | Mikey_1962

[Mikey_1962]

DETROIT, March 27 (Reuters) - General Motors Corp. (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) is expected to start cutting thousands of U.S. salaried workers on Tuesday as part of a sweeping restructuring aimed at stemming losses and market share, a source close to the situation said on Monday.

Tuesday's cuts will be in the engineering division, the source said. He also said reductions in sales and marketing staff would be announced in April.

The job cuts will be the first of those announced last November, when the struggling automaker said it would let go of 7 percent of its 36,000 white-collar U.S. employees this year.

A GM spokesman declined comment, saying the company had "nothing to announce or confirm."

The world's largest automaker lost $10.6 billion in 2005 as it faced high labor and commodities costs, loss of U.S. market share to foreign rivals and sluggish sales of sport-utility vehicles -- typically its largest profit generators.

The staff reduction "sends a message to the union that everyone is sharing the pain," Argus Research analyst Kevin Tynan said.

In November, GM reached a deal with the United Auto Workers union (UAW) that would slash its health care costs by $1 billion a year. The automaker in January halved its dividend, cutting it for the first time in more than 13 years and said it would reduce top executive pay by 30 percent.

The atmosphere at GM's Warren Technical Center in Michigan was tense on Monday, as engineers remained uncertain about their future, the source said. Employees have been told to cancel vacations scheduled on Tuesday, he added.

"One of the necessities of the restructuring program is to downsize," Healy said. "GM has too many plants, too many people, and too many models."

[Mikey_1962]

GM had a 51share in the 1980's. (The Reagan Administration taked about breaking up GM)

Today they have a 26 share of the market and a 50 share workforce.

[Tarpon]

I hear GM is real good at building health care and retirement plans, so-so when it comes to cars.

[2banana]

Cutting engineering - who will design the next cars that will save GM?

[keithtoo]

GM is laying off folks for 2 reasons. First of all, they produce mediocre cars on a good day, and crap on most days.

Another reason is that ME, with a masters degree does not earn as much as some flunky union dweeb who never did anything but graduate high school - maybe - who bitches all day long about how he is being abused, while making $90K per year with benefits.

I have a Ford and a Buick in my driveway, but I have almost no sympathy for American auto manufacturers who are working with a 50-year old game plan.

[keithtoo]

GM will soon change it's name to General Medical, since they are one of the world's largest providers of medical insurance and one of the world's declining providers of transportation.

[A message]

a source close to the situation

Ah, the Reuters " source close to the situation."

I did some investigating and found that Reuters will be laying off 20,000 "unnamed" and "close to the situation" sources.

But seriously, nobody likes losing a job but it happens, my thoughts go out to those looking for new work.

As successful a day as I had yesterday, I could be gone from my job tomorrow.

Farmers understand this, they could lose a crop to drought or not be able to plant due to rain at any time.

Living here on earth will never be a Utopia.

[conservativebabe]

Hey GM! Make cars people want to buy, then you'll be a-ight!

[Pete'sWife]

The staff reduction "sends a message to the union that everyone is sharing the pain," Argus Research analyst Kevin Tynan said.

If I buy a Chevy, I'll be sharing the pain, too.

[Mikey_1962]

I grew up in Detroit and alot (I mean ALOT) of my friends could not understand why I would want to go to college when we could work and GM or Ford or Fisher Body or Uniroyal, for double what I could make right out of school.

For about 25 years their plan worked....

[Little Ray]

Have you seen the new Pontiac Solstice?

http://autos.yahoo.com/newcars/pontiac_solstice_2006/4341/model_overview.html?refsrc=iy/model/pontiac+solstice

[EQAndyBuzz]

"Cutting engineering - who will design the next cars that will save GM?"

The DNC.

[VeniVidiVici]

Aren't those laid-off still being paid for quite some time due to the union contract?

[1rudeboy]

Cutting engineering - who will design the next cars that will save GM?

Toyota has plenty of engineers in California, they'll take over when Toyota purchases GM's carcass.

[EQAndyBuzz]

I know exactly how GM can save themselves.

Sell GM to the Unions. Let the unions make it work since they know what is best.

[PCBMan]

Sheesh, that engineering staff has been cut so many times I'm surprised there's still anybody there.

[paulcissa]

I worked for GM (field operations) in the early `80's. The company was a house-of-cards then and just got worse as time went on. When I left in 1987, it was a relief to be gone. It took a few more years working elsewhere to realize how utterly screwed-up GM was (and apparantly still is).

[conservativebabe]

That's pretty sharp. Stupid name though.

[WideGlide]

Tuesday's cuts will be in the engineering division, the source said.

GM's remaining engineer, Fred F., takes the new Chevrolet Pylocrap for a test drive in GM's secret indoor test facility in Bedrock, Canada.

[Babu]

GM will soon change it's name to General Medical, since they are one of the world's largest providers of medical insurance and one of the world's declining providers of transportation.

... or maybe: General Mundane, or General Malfunction

[Red Badger]

If I buy a Chevy, I'll be sharing the pain, too.

LOL!!! I bought a '99 Firebird. I've been sharing the pain ever since...........