Posted on 12/23/2009 7:24:06 PM PST by SeekAndFind
On December 8, Susan Gustafson at MLive.com proclaimed that "GM's announcement of no more layoffs is good news after years of hemorrhaging jobs":
General Motors' announcement this morning that it plans no further layoffs in the immediate future is huge news for both the automaker and Michigan as a whole after years of steady erosion in the ranks of hourly and salaried workers.
.... the company doesn't expect the numbers of hourly workers on indefinite layoff to increase.
That same day, Robert Snell at the Detroit News reported the same thing:
General Motors Co. does not plan any job cuts in the immediate future, the company's new president of North America said this morning.
Eight days later, GM laid off additional workers indefinitely in Bowling Green, Kentucky:
As 75 more workers were indefinitely laid off from General Motors' Corvette assembly plant in this western Kentucky city, those who remain say 2009 has been one tough year.
No one has asked how this move doesn't break the company's promise made eight days earlier. Does it not count because it's "only" 75? Or because it's "only" in Kentucky?
Though their relevance to the accuracy of the company's promise is less clear, about 100 more GM workers lost their jobs last week:
TONAWANDA, N.Y. (WIVB) ..... As of Friday, December 18th, the GM Plant in Tonawanda rolled out its last V-8 engine. Workers were told the engine line was coming to an end back in June.
.... the company's plan was to lay off 150 employees, but it turns out some of them will continue working.
Local 774 Chairman Bob Coleman explained, "We absorbed a lot of people in the other lines. We'd seen where the need was for the bodies probably about 50 people."
Well, GM said that the number of people on indefinite layoff would not increase on December 8, but it obviously has in both Bowling Green and Tonawanda.
According to NPR on the day of the "no more layoffs" announcement, recently fired CEO Fritz Henderson had previously said that further layoffs might be necessary:
The (no more layoff) news is a turnaround from comments made last month by former President and CEO Fritz Henderson who said GM still had too many hourly workers and could slash some of the 6,000 to 7,000 workers currently on layoff.
It turns out that Fritz Henderson was right. Perhaps saying so contributed to why he was fired.
It look like GM, which was not exactly a model of corporate clarity before it went bankrupt and became a government- and union-controlled entity, has learned a lot about government-speak in a very short time.
It also looks like the press has learned not to look for contradictions or falsehoods in anything Government Motors says or does.
Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.
—Tom Blumer is president of a training and development company in Mason, Ohio, and is a contributing editor to NewsBusters
Government Motors? Sheesh! What’ll Government Totalitarians do when people quit buying THEIR BS
I hate to bring the free-market Ford into this discussion, but I have recently found Ford to be utterly intransigent and unwilling to discount.
Frankly arrogant.
All US carmakers, evidently continue to compete with the GOP for complete, utter cluelessness.
And yes, I wanted to buy a Ford. P*sses me off, to tell the truth.
No more Ford fan posts from this FReeper.
Find another ford dealer.
Talk about p*ssing in the punchbowl. Is Ford that arrogant to think they’re the only game in town?
Screw them then. Buy from a non-UAW company that buids cars here in the USA: Toyota, Honda, Mercedes, Mitsubishi, etc...
Go buy an American made non-union labor car like a BMW, Hyundai, Honda, Nissan or Toyota.
I like Ford for now. If the UAW kills them like GM and Chrysler then no Ford.
I tried several.
All responded to an internet query immediately - it was clear they were required to do so.
All also, quoted full bore prices - and were completely unmotivated to hook me enough to put up with the dealer nonsense and actually buy.
I bought TWO new Fords already. I think my next truck might be an import.
I’m really, really frustrated about this.
Ford s*cks.
Government Motors is going under; nothing can possibly stop it. Discarding Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Hummer, and Saturn has offended over half of their formerly loyal customers.
And Saab!
If you think Ford sucks, nothing is going to please you. (especially in trucks)
The geniuses at GM did the same thing with the truck plant in Shreveport earlier this year. At first things were OK. Then a week later they were told on second thought you are being shut down in two years.
All I have to say is... thanks to everyone in America for my new speaker!!! The front left speaker (that also makes the turn signal click clack sound) was out. The car’s 3/36,000 just expired (by 700 miles). They fixed it for free! Ok, so it wasn’t exactly free considering it was my tax money paying the bills, but still. Thanks to all you for bailing me out today!
Plenty more bailout money to throw around. I’m afraid this is another “too big to fail”.
I don’t think it would help.
And the voters won’t stand for it.
I want a darn discount.
Who in the world pays full price for a car or truck?
It seems obviousl It’s not like it’s some secret, that paying full price for a vehicle is foolish.
It’s foolish.
My last two Fords were purchased (heavily) discounted. I’ve been happy as a clam with both.
I’m about to give up. I even told several dealers my issue.
Nothing.
Not even an email back, to acknowledge the word “discount”.
Is Ford selling so many trucks, it doesn’t need to discount??
Yo, Kain tuck-ians!
STFU and eat your poisoned peanut butter from the ice storm or you, too, will get sent to Tora Bora.
Consider the privilege of being transparently jobless a personal “Xmas” present from He Who Shall Not Be Named.
After what they did to the bond holders I have NO sympathy.
You’re welcome!
Since I’m paying (along with most folks here on FR) for it, I want to fire Howie Long. I am SOOOOOOO sick of seeing his mug hocking ObamaMobiles. At least use a hot chick - DUH! You’re running most of the ads during football games, where the audience is what, 80+% males?!?!
Shows the brilliance of GM, no matter who’s running them.
Ford is pooping in tall cotton right now due to the customer backlash from GM and Chrysler.
That is part of the reason for no discount; the other part is that the factory has the same union retirement problem that sunk GM, so there is just not a lot of margin to spread around.
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