When will they ever learn ...

From today's LA TIMES (Front Page Headline)

GM to Slash Payroll in U.S.
The slumping carmaker plans to cut 25,000 jobs and close several plants but still must figure out how to get more people to buy its vehicles.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-f...-home-business

 

Once again, ineffective upper management decisions coupled with lackluster design and quality result in the little guy (average line worker, middle manager, clerical worker) taking it in the hind end. I'd like to know how much of a pay cut the President and VP's of GM and its divisions are taking.

These are the people who thought putting a General Motors badge on each car would help sales because people don't know a Pontiac is a GM product... What it really means is that those who don't know will now be able to steer clear of all GM products.

It's beginning to look bad for the average worker in the U.S. these days. Companies like United Airlines and GM can manage themselves into a deep hole and then climb out of it on the backs of employee payroll and pension cuts. God help us.

A_Sr.

 

All they have to do is figure out how to blame their woes on terrorism, and maybe they can get a multi-billion dollar government bailout.

 

Hey - it worked for Chrylser a while back. . ."Those Japanese terrorists are making better cars than we are!! Give us money!!!"

 

Easy:

"Those damn terrorists scared the crap out of us. Now our designers are so confused they think Pontiac Vibe look good and our worker's hands are shaking so badly we can not make a quality product".

Now who do I send my consulting bill to?

 

Saw this cartoon this morning:

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor..._uc/po20050608

A_Sr.

 

GM is now selling cars at "Employee Pricing". Which means everyone can buy any GM vehicle (including Hummers) as though they were a GM employee, and get the employee discount.

Steve

 

Folks have been predicting GM's demise for many years. A company the size of GM is like an oil tanker -- you can steer hard in any direction you want, but the ship (company) reacts VERY slowly.

I worked for a very large supplier to the domestic auto companies. It's interesting how a business, kinda like a club, attracts similar personalities among its members. From what I witnessed, American car companies are populated by folks who don't understand why anybody wouldn't want an American car.

Being the Resident Evil Import Enthusiast at my company (really - I was alone), I was usually met with confused looks up to hostility in reaction to my interest. The inability or unwillingness to understand the competition (and learn to compete against them) depressed me. I no longer work at this company.

Based on my experience, things will get much worse in the American car business before they get better. Many bad habits have to be "unlearned" or overcome.

 

I've been in that role with my friends/acquaintances as well. Now I'm there again, but this time it's the SUV owners looking down on my MCS. Till I blow them off at a light.

I agree with your observation of the unwillingness for domestic companies to change. You'd think after living through the Japanese onslaught of the 70's they would have learned but apparently not. And in a business climate that rewards accounting cheats and mismanagement, then says "Sure you can dump your pension and health care debts", the only people who suffer are the little guys trying to feed their family. Hell, if you're an unsuccessful CEO you get paid millions to leave!

Logic turned upside down.

A_Sr.

 

Cut? Hell, they'll get a raise!

You guys seem to forget that GM is not just about automobiles... which may be why it has the problems in the first place.

 

. . . Oops. For a minute, I thought that metal guitarist "Slash" was going to be added to the GM payroll (kinda in keeping with the lame-o Led Zepplin Caddy ads). My mistake!

What?! This what I expect from GM these days!

 

The corporate line is that GMs woes are primarily due to escalated costs for employee healthcare. If so, the reason this wonderful company that turns out incredibly wonderful vehicles needs to cutback is because national healthcare does not fit with capitalism. It is branded socialist.

However, if GM's case follows the trend, another private corporation will be subsidized by the state, meaning all of us. Gee, socialism is OK if it goes to businesses.

I should mention I have mixed feeling about such bailouts since it is more complicated than this. I just find it ironic that we don't call subsidies and bailouts to corporations what they are.

 

Amen!

A_Sr.

 

It is socialism. If we think healthcare costs a lot now, just let the government run it. I work in government and it's a freakin' joke here...

GM, just like Chrysler, is a government vendor and deals a lot with the military. Losing GM could mean big trouble for our military, not to mention the tens of thousands of lost jobs - but the former is the more important issue.

I think we all find it distasteful to bail out poorly run companies.

huh? We do call them subsidies and bailouts because that's what they are!

Ah, you're thinking socialism, eh? Not the same thing. Socialism is about entitlements. Subsidies and bailouts are about national security, or politics, or just plain good old pork.

 

You are right to a degree that socialism is about entitlements. That, though is an extremely limited and partial description. Socialism also involves entertwining public and private sectors. Putting aside whether bailing out GM might be good for "national security", it is not only an example of subsidies and bailouts, but also demonstrantive of socialized government.

Of course, the more common term is corporate welfare. Just as I've heard people condemn welfare to individuals (from food stamps to social security) as creeping socialism, giving taxpayer money to private business is as well.

 

Gee, I didn't mean to be a thread killer unless this one was due to die.

I do want to mentioned a related column I saw today. Thomas Friedman has one in the NYTimes (available on-line) opining he thinks the best thing for GM would be to be bought by Toyota.

It was read in a rush but it seems the gist is he thinks they would update management style and, of course, product line. It would also avoid total closedown even though there would be layoffs.

Like my view of most of Friedman's pieces (and books), he seems well thought out even when I disagree. In this case, I think it would be a good thing but doubt Toyota would want to take it on.

 

Thanks for the info inioway. I just read Friedman's commentary, which included this:

"It is not that I want any autoworker to lose his or her job, but I certainly would not put on a black tie if the entire management team at G.M. got sacked and was replaced by executives from Toyota. Indeed, I think the only hope for G.M.'s autoworkers, and maybe even our country, is with Toyota. Because let's face it, as Toyota goes, so goes America."

Bold words, but maybe he is right.

BTW, in his book "The Lexus and the Olive Tree," in explaining the title, he describes his visit to the Lexus plant in Japan. Interesting reading if you ever get the chance.