GM To Offer Buyouts To More Than 46,000 U.S. Hourly Workers

Source: Detroit Free Press

General Motors Corp. will offer buyouts to more than half of its hourly workers as part of a plan to cut labor costs, Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner said during a presentation to analysts this afternoon.

Wagoner said the automaker would offer buyouts to the nearly 46,000 hourly workers who are already eligible to retire as part of efforts to take advantage of its new cost-cutting labor contract with the UAW. GM currently employs about 73,000 hourly workers.

GM could cut labor costs both by reducing its workforce and replacing some of its workforce with lower-paid workers, which is possible through a clause in the new contract that allows the automaker to hire a second tier of workers into non-core jobs at a lower wage and benefits rate.

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He also said that the upcoming contract bargaining with the Canadian Auto Workers union “presents an opportunity for us to improve our competitiveness in Canada.”




Read more: http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080117/BUSINESS01/80117053/0/BUSINESS

or declining demand for GM cars and trucks?

General Motors Corp (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research), on track to be surpassed by Toyota for global sales leadership in 2007, saw its U.S. sales drop 5 percent in December. Excluding heavier trucks, GM's sales were down 4 percent.

Toyota's sales for December were down 1.7 percent, while smaller rival Nissan Motor Co (7201.T: Quote, Profile, Research) posted a sales decline of 2.4 percent.

Privately held Chrysler LLC and Honda Motor Co (7267.T: Quote, Profile, Research) were the only major automakers to avoid sales declines. Honda's results were almost flat, buoyed by sales gains for its Accord and Civic sedans.

Chrysler posted a sales rise of just under 1 percent, driven by a strong performance by its revamped minivans, a family-friendly segment other automakers have abandoned.

I'm going to need a new car soon. Because of my job, I need to move from a Honda Accord to an SUV. I was leaning heavily toward a Chevy Tahoe but am now seriously considering a Toyota Sequoia. Even the good ole boys here in Texas are urging me to go with Toyota.

The Tundra, word has it around here (I'm new to TX)is that the transmission isn't that great. I'm being steered toward the Sequoia. I'm told that it is more rugged, lasts longer, and gets better mileage then it's American counterparts. Plus, I have to admit, I like the way it looks.

The Tundra really isn't that much better than domestic trucks. The only thing I could really complain about it is that its frame is not as strong the domestic trucks, other than that, its has a good drive train and such. Looks wise, it does look good, but the Silverado has the better interior.

But I wouldn't bother with buying a full size truck, I'm sticking with my Dodge Dakota which is just the right size for me, not too big, and not too small. I'm seriously thinking about selling it, because the new 08's have a 302hp 4.7 v8 now (my 04 4.7 v8 has 230hp), and overall the truck is pretty awsome!

What are your thoughts?

I should test drive one just for the heck of it just like I did with an 07 Tahoe. The Tahoe has the same interior as the Silverado, which again, is very very good quality! And it drives unbelievably smooth for an SUV, the seats are comfortable, the stereo sounds great. Not to mention they have flex fuel engines, but they suck IMO because those engines are still designed to run on regular, they cant take advantage of the increased octane in ethonal with a low compression ratio, thus they'll get worse fuel milage on E85.

The analysts won't be happy till the company is gone and we are ruled by non-competing imports. Ask a Toyota dealer how many GM cars are allowed to be sold in Japan?

We opened the door to these fuckers and we're the ones shuttering plants and offering early retirements to the workers. And once you lose these skilled craftsmen and craftswomen, they are never coming back because no one wants to be labeled an autoworker thanks to the stigma placed on them by the younger import loving American buyers.

You all won't be happy until everything you buy is imported and our manufacturing base is gone. And then you can wonder about your McJob cleaning an office or working at Wal Mart. When plants close it SEVERLY affects ALL of the business around it for hundreds of miles, and destroys the tax base and creates a burden on the cities and towns around it. Look at Detroit. Panic in the streets and one of the highest unemployment rates in the country. But you can go buy that Yoda, don't sweat the small stuff.


Buy your Toyota's and Honda's. You can't see the forest for the trees.

All the whining about how nothing is manufactured here in the US anymore...just can't find anything not madein China, right? Yet so many come on here and brag about their foriegn made vehicles or sneer at the American cars. What a load of crap. Is there a bigger group of hypocrites than our so called fellow "liberals"? I'm beginning to think not.

Julie

Dumb fuckers working there can't find their way to work on a Monday morning so Toyota builds its next car plant in Canada, NOT because of lower health care costs, but because the workforce comes to work. And trying to teach the workforce to use robots and high-capacity tools is a nightmare too. So many of the (untrained non-union I might add), workers don't even have a grammar school education.


Ya get what ya pay for. But if it says American made, most around here say Fuck America.:mad:

Right to work for crappy wages and no job security! And there are those who are salivating at the thought of spreading this effective tool for achieving servitude of the working class.

Why can't more people see this?

Julie

The MAJORITY of the membership here doesn't give a shit about Unions or their members. They're labor snobs, just like the Repukes, unless it affects them, they don't give a shit about the plight of the blue collar worker.



They have tunnel vision, and all these supposed Edwards supporters should be ACTIVELY working to spread the word about the benefit of Union membership.

But they don't give a shit either.

Way to contribute to the problem, buddy!

"But *mine* was built in America!"

Yeah, by people without a contract.

"But maybe they don't *want" to organize!"

Just keep telling yourself that.

Suburbans and Silverados? I don't think so.

The problem with domestics? They have no appeal to consumers outside of the US.
Hell, they hardly have much appeal in the states anymore either.

The GM mentality is still stubbornly stuck in the 1970s.
Quarterly profit and marketing are what they're all about. Everything
is devoted to shoving ever growing monster trucks and SUVs down our throats,
marketing them as the cure for your small penis syndrome.

To hell with innovation and the needs of the consumer, its all about being
the biggest macho poser on the block!

They make some really good cars that are selling good in other countries but not availabe here. The Holden Commodore for instance, is selling like hotcakes in Australia, and their are other versions of that car thats doing well in other countries. Thankfully it will be imported here as a Pontiac G8 which is replaceing the Grand Prix.

Umm, why aren't they?

So a tiny market like Australia gets the good stuff, but the
largest and most important market, the US, gets the crap?

In what universe does that make good business sense?

it`s a world class car as good as any german or japanese car...why we can`t buy them here?

they are run by MBA bean counters whose only loyalty is to their own personal
annual bonus and making it as big as possible. They could give a crap about
the long-term good of the company, or their workers. This is in contrast to the
engineering backgrounds that are prevalent among the top brass at the Japanese and
European companies. Innovation and design takes a backseat to politics and hubris.

those cars kick ass...

Even though the 04+ Pontiac GTO (imported Holden Monaro) wasent a good seller, thats a car built with good quality! The seats were really comfortable, overall the interior was great, and it rode pretty smooth for a high performance sports car thanks to the IRS.

Its really sad that the big 3 can sell great cars in other countries, but not here where they orinally started.

on the expressway in chicago...he was going close to a hundred or so ,backed off to turn, and bang--blue smoke coming out both banks of the engine! looked like a f1 car exploding

when a business goes tits up.

and drove nothing but GM cars. I watched how GM operates and know exactly why they are where they are. The hourly worker just gets the shaft for it. After I got the shaft from both the company and the cars (awful, awful cars) I bought first a Suzuki, then a Toyota. Both were the best vehicles I have ever driven. The GM workers didn't design poorly - GM did. How can you make up for that?

We, and our candidates, need to start talking about this NOW. We CANNOT continue to live in denial, thinking that it can't happen here. It can, and it IS.

Wasn't it just last week that Mittens was saying he was going to bring those jobs back to Detroit? Oops . . . .

Our country is in a lot of trouble. :scared:

a whole lot of 'em been gone for a while.

need to re-tool and make windmills, trains, green tech.

please.

No One in the US will have a job.

:toast: :yourock:

"reducing its workforce and replacing some of its workforce with lower-paid workers"

Makes me think overseas.... :grr:

You Take Care~ :toast:

what a frickin asshole!! someone shut him up please!!!!!

More so with the wage and benefit package. Under the GM/UAW agreement signed in Sept. 07, there is a two tier wage package in force. Those leaving will be replaced with workers making lower wages/benefits.

I see that happen all the time. I have to admit I had thought a union job would be less likely to do this though.

This came out Thursday and this is the first I've noticed.

likely to help them. I do not understand why they did not come out in full force for John Edwards. I have always worked with the Unions during the election cycles and they have a great ground operation here. The percentage points were within reach. Does anyone know what happened and why some of the unions endorsed other candidates?