The General Needs Your Help!

[Alliance00]

http://gmfactsandfiction.com/

[Zembonez]

Interesting reading but it is just internal spin and propaganda. All companies do it right up to the last minute in business.

 

I hope GM survives. Perhaps a bankruptcy and reorganization without the UAW can save them. Otherwise the UAW will continue sucking until every ounce of blood is gone. They do not give a shit...

[pennzoil29]

Interesting reading but it is just internal spin and propaganda. All companies do it right up to the last minute in business.

 

I hope GM survives. Perhaps a bankruptcy and reorganization without the UAW can save them. Otherwise the UAW will continue sucking until every ounce of blood is gone. They do not give a shit...

 

[dietz4ibanez]

I wish there was something we could do......... If knowing that it would help I would buy another vehicle from them but if everyone would go out and buy 1 new vehicle from GM would it help? I would hope so...

 

Another thing that I was thinking what if they went to the employees and asked for an extra $5-10 from reach of the employees to help cover with the health insurance.. I am sure that GM pay's a good percentage for their employees health coverage...

 

And sure I am like everyone else I wouldnt want to lose $5-10 a paycheck but if I was guaranteed that it would secure my future employment I would be all for it especially now for the auto industry it would be hard to find a job!

[unit731]

Sorry Detroit, Blaming Unions Doesn't Work (F, GM)

Joe Weisenthal | Nov 12, 08 12:06 PM

 

Advocates of a bailout for GM, Ford and Chrysler would have you believe that everything would be fine in Detroit if it weren't for those pesky legacy and labor costs. To them, legacy costs aren't a point to be made in an argument, but a complete argument ender -- like the nuclear bomb of the bailout debate. As soon as someone brings it up, game over.

 

There are two big problems with this:

 

1) So what? Who signed these deals with the unions, making it difficult to lay off workers, while compelling the companies to pay healthcare benefits on all those retirees. It was the management, on behalf of shareholders. We don't blame the elderly* for Social Security's problems, we blame the politicians who lack the will to do anything about it. (*Ok, to some extent you can say the AARP has too much political clout, but really, more power to 'em.)

 

But the bigger problem is:

 

2) Legacy costs aren't the real issue. You can't blame pension obligations and declining healthcare costs for declining market share. It's not the union's fault that sales were down 50% in October, far outpacing the industry. It's not the unions fault that the companies have bet so heavily on SUVs.

 

To wit, read this post from October, 2005 on the GM Fastlane Blog written by VP Bob Lutz crowing about how the introduction of heavy trucks and SUV in a time of rising oil prices was admirably contrarian (yes, he used the word contrarian):

 

Most of you participants in the FastLane know by now that I get pretty fired up about conventional wisdom, particularly when it is wrong!

 

Well, it seems that ever since we announced we were bringing out our next generation full-size trucks and utilities, people seem to think it’s unwise. And, perhaps worse, even though those that have seen the vehicles have generally come away impressed, they often leave you with the impression that’s all we sell.

 

I’ll admit that on the surface it may seem incongruous to introduce vehicles like this, given today’s fuel prices. But, I have to tell you, these products still make a lot of sense. Let me explain.

 

The fainthearted can read the rest here. The point, though, is that management bravely made a bad bet, and now that's contributing to the pain they feel. That has nothing to do with legacy costs. It would be one thing if GM and Ford's were successfully holding onto market share, and it were clear that if you stripped out some $X value of labor costs, they would be profitable again. Then you might make the argument. Pass the burden of supporting retirees onto government, and give them some kind of break to defray labor costs. But nobody actually makes that argument credibly.

 

That's because the math just doesn't support it. A commenter on The Big Picture (via commenter Matt Lehrer) explains why:

 

Now, SaneInSF thinks there is a “$3K-$4K cost disadvantage per vehicle thanks to Union obligations”

 

According to 2007 figures given here (http://www.autoobserver.com/2007/09/gm-uaw-strike-a-deal.html) “GM’s current labor costs are $73.26 per hour” and “The cost is $25 to $30 per hour more than the labor costs of Asian rivals such as Toyota and Honda that have plants in the U.S. The creation of the VEBA could eliminate as much as one-half to two-thirds of the gap virtually overnight.”

 

To be wild and crazy, take the $30/hr difference, cut it in half (because the VEBA was agreed to), and you have $15/hr * $34 Hr/car = $510/car max. Not thousands. Are people actually expecting that breaking the UAW or moving a plant south would suddenly turn a $23k car into a $19k car? As much as the UAW has made my life difficult at times, some honesty is due in the discussion.

 

 

http://clusterstock.alleyinsider.com/2008/...ns-doesn-t-work

[unit731]

By David Bailey

 

DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Corp (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) Chief Executive Rick Wagoner's salary and other compensation rose 64 percent in 2007 to about $15.7 million, mainly due to option grants, according to a proxy filed on Friday.

 

The GM compensation committee cited significant progress over the past few years in reducing the automaker's health care cost burden, increasing growth internationally and improvements in its cars and trucks in the 2007 awards to executives.

 

Wagoner's compensation rose from about $9.57 million in 2006. The figure was arrived at based on Wagoner's salary, all other compensation and the basis of annual grants.

 

GM paid Wagoner a salary of $1.6 million in 2007, along with $1.8 million in non-equity incentive compensation and nearly $700,000 for other compensation that includes insurance benefits, security, aircraft expenses and other factors.

 

GM, which reported a record $39 billion net loss in 2007, released the figures in a proxy statement on Friday afternoon that was filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

The automaker, which has been restructuring, reached a contract in 2007 with the United Auto Workers that has permitted buyouts for its UAW hourly workers, a second-tier wage for new hires and a plan that will push billions of health care obligations into a union-aligned trust.

 

Wagoner had accepted a reduced base salary in 2006 and 2007 and only about 16 percent of his compensation is guaranteed. In March, GM granted Wagoner a raise to $2.2 million per year, restoring his salary to 2006 levels.

 

Fritz Henderson, who was promoted to president and chief operating officer in March, received compensation of about $9.3 million in 2007, up from about $5.1 million in 2006.

 

Henderson's salary was raised to $1.8 million from $1.3 million in March with his appointment as president and COO, the No. 2 position to Wagoner.

 

Vice Chairman Bob Lutz's compensation rose to about $9 million in 2007, from about $5.1 million in 2006. The product chief's salary was raised to $1.75 million, from $1.3 million.

 

The issue of executive compensation in the struggling U.S. auto industry has become something of a hot-button issue because of the United Auto Workers union.

 

A report earlier in April that Ford Motor Co (F.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) Chief Executive Alan Mulally had earned more than $22 million in 2007, drew a sharp rebuke from the UAW as excessive, given concessions UAW members had agreed to in the 2007 contract.

 

Ford, which posted a $2.7 billion loss in 2007, reported a first quarter profit on Thursday that surprised analysts.

 

GM and other major automakers have been hit by a slowing in the U.S. economy and rising fuel costs that have driven a major shift in consumer preferences toward cars and crossovers and away from large sport-utility vehicles and pickup trucks.

 

GM also said E. Neville Isdell, chairman and CEO of Coca-Cola Co (KO.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), has been nominated to GM's board. He would join the board August 6 if elected at GM's annual meeting in Delaware on June 3.

 

(Reporting by David Bailey; Editing by Andre Grenon and Carol Bishopric

 

http://www.reuters.com/article/businessNew...534738420080425

 

 

http://www.companypay.com/executive/compen...orp.asp?yr=2005

[Zembonez]

MAN!

 

That reads like union spin.

 

The UAW has hijacked the American car manufacturers for way too long. They need to go away. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see why.

[D&SYukonDenali]

MAN!

 

That reads like union spin.

 

The UAW has hijacked the American car manufacturers for way too long. They need to go away. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see why.

 

 

+1

[VMax2007]

MAN!

 

That reads like union spin.

 

The UAW has hijacked the American car manufacturers for way too long. They need to go away. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see why.

 

 

+1 bajillion-Zillion to the power of infinity.

 

 

Fixed.

[pennzoil29]

MAN!

 

That reads like union spin.

 

The UAW has hijacked the American car manufacturers for way too long. They need to go away. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see why.

 

 

+1 bajillion-Zillion to the power of infinity.

 

 

Fixed.

 

 

[C. Charles Hahn]

MAN!

 

That reads like union spin.

 

The UAW has hijacked the American car manufacturers for way too long. They need to go away. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see why.

 

Couldn't agree more. UAW is the downfall of the US auto industry, no bones about it.

[merlin5577]

Interesting reading but it is just internal spin and propaganda. All companies do it right up to the last minute in business.

 

I hope GM survives. Perhaps a bankruptcy and reorganization without the UAW can save them. Otherwise the UAW will continue sucking until every ounce of blood is gone. They do not give a shit...

 

I agree with you Jim, but I hope they dont have to declare bankruptcy. I just feel bad for all the people (employees) who will be hurt in the short term.

[C. Charles Hahn]

Interesting reading but it is just internal spin and propaganda. All companies do it right up to the last minute in business.

 

I hope GM survives. Perhaps a bankruptcy and reorganization without the UAW can save them. Otherwise the UAW will continue sucking until every ounce of blood is gone. They do not give a shit...

 

I agree with you Jim, but I hope they dont have to declare bankruptcy. I just feel bad for all the people (employees) who will be hurt in the short term.

 

 

One thing is an absolute certainty in this situation: it WILL get worse before it gets better. The question at this point becomes "how much worse" will it get?

 

It's still too early to tell....

[stormrider]

I hope GM survives. Perhaps a bankruptcy and reorganization without the UAW can save them. Otherwise the UAW will continue sucking until every ounce of blood is gone. They do not give a shit...

 

I agree with you Jim, but I hope they dont have to declare bankruptcy. I just feel bad for all the people (employees) who will be hurt in the short term.

 

 

 

flame me if you want but I do not have any sympathy for the employees that allow the unions to make the assinine demands given the economy and also what other industries are doing. I agree with all the previous posts....there is one and only one reason that the American auto industry is in the straights they are in...the UAW.

Until they can break the stranglehold of the unions they will continue to slide. Anyone who thinks that the unions are not directly responsible for moving plants out of the country should do more reading.

 

We had the same issues with the union in may area..... although it was Caterpillar. strike after strike until the company finally said enough and closed the plant. One of the largest on the east coast. Then everyone was crying. Due to the history of these employees many still could not get hired 5-7 years after the fact because no employer wanted to touvh an ex-cat employee because of the history.

rant done

[Paul58]

RANT ON:

 

I feel a bankruptcy and re-org is the only way GM, Ford, and Chrysler will survive (and possibly learn a valuable lesson)! Throwing $25M of our tax dollars will do nothing but prolong the inevitable becaue unless they are forced to change the way they do business, they never will and that bail-out money will be squandered away much like it's being squandered by many of the financial institutions receiving bail-out money!

 

The problem with this country is the free handouts! If everyone was held accountable we wouldn't be in the situation we're currently in... But, if we continue to bail-out those who won't help themselves, they'll never learn how to help themselves! This applies to CEO of major Industries with Golden Parachutes all the way down to idiots who thought purchasing $300K homes on a $50K income using interest only loans was a good idea! Now those of us who responsibly purchased homes within our means and make our mortage payments are being punished by having our tax dollars bail out these losers! We've had the "if we don't have enough money, print more" mentality for too long! Maybe we should all do our part by boycotting credit and start paying for everything with cash, which would mean: If you can't afford it, don't buy it!

 

RANT OFF!