GM to ax jobs, shut plants

[doktorevil]

GM to ax jobs, shut plants

By Detroit Fress Press | November 22, 2005

DETROIT -- General Motors Corp. chief executive Rick Wagoner said the plans outlined yesterday to stop production at 12 facilities and cut 30,000 hourly jobs will help GM return to profitability.

But he declined to specify when GM would show a profit.

The cuts were deeper than had been expected and come as questions swirl over whether GM could go bankrupt as its losses in North America approach $5 billion this year.

In addition to the 12 targeted facilities, GM will reevaluate three packaging operations in Michigan and cut third shifts at two assembly plants elsewhere. Wagoner said the moves will slash structural expenses by about $7 billion, when combined with other cost cuts.

''The decisions we are announcing today were very difficult to reach because of their impact on our employees and the communities where we live and work," said Wagoner, who took control of North American operations in April. ''But these actions are necessary for GM to get its costs in line with our major global competitors."

After earning $3.7 billion in 2004, the company lost more than that over the first nine months this year as its US vehicle sales dropped and employee healthcare costs rose.

''It is devastating to the many thousands of workers, their families, and their communities," United Auto Workers president Ron Gettelfinger and vice president Dick Shoemaker said in a statement. It will make the UAW's negotiations with GM on a new contract in September 2007 ''much more difficult," they added.

Ben benieuwd waar de klappen gaan vallen...

[Ruud]

De kwakkelende Amerikaanse automobielgigant General Motors heeft ingrijpende plannen aangekondigd. Tot 2008 worden in Noord-Amerika 30.000 banen geschapt. Vijf fabrieken sluiten de poorten.

General Motors topman Rick Wagoner heeft maandagochtend in een interne televisie-uitzending aangekondigd dat tot 2008 30.000 banen bij het concern zullen verdwijnen. Dat wordt onder meer bereikt door het sluiten van vijf autofabrieken in Oklahoma City, Lansing, Michigan, Spring Hill,Tennessee, Doraville, Georgia en Oshawa in Canada. Ook verdwijnen banen doordat in verschillende vestigingen de derde dienst verdwijnt. GM gaat proberen zoveel mogelijk banen via natuurlijke verloop te laten verdwijnen.
Met deze ingrijpende maatregelen wordt de capaciteit van General Motors in Noord-Amerika de komende twee jaar met een miljoen auto´s verminderd. Dat komt bovenop de al eerder geplande vermindering van een miljoen exemplaren tussen 2002 en 2005. Aan het einde van 2006 moet een besparing zijn gehaald van 7 miljard dollar; een miljard meer dan een al eerder gesteld doel.
“Deze maatregelen zijn nodig om onze kosten in lijn te krijgen met die van onze concurrenten in de rest van de wereld. Ze zijn nodig om de activiteiten van General Motors in Amerika weer zo snel mogelijk winstgevend te maken,” aldus Wagoner in zijn verklaring naar het personeel.

http://www.autoweek.nl/newsdisp.php?cache=no&ID=4228

[Leonardo da Vinci]

Klinkt meer alsof GM het concern prioriteiten wenst te geven om een betere greep op zijn bredere draagvlak te hanteren.
De naam die zegt het all = General Motors (dus niet General in de zin van Captain General, maar = Algemene Motoren, wat niet alleen op autos van toepassing is, maar in de trend van General Electric of Euroshopper.
Dus grasmaaiers worden niet meer door General Motors gemaakt. En het aanbod aan Amerikaanse autos valt terug om op de productie van volle melk te kunnen concentreren.
Het is een verlossing van omstandigheden voor GM om op internationaal vlak te kunnen profileren.

[jelger]

ja, las het al in 'onze' krant, de San Francisco Chronicle.

"[...] a larger restructuring plan that includes the possible sale of a controlling interest in General Motors Acceptance Corp., GM's profitable finance arm."

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f ... 842S61.DTL

GM to Ax 30,000 Jobs, Close 12 Facilities

General Motors Corp., pounded by declining sales and rising health care costs, said Monday it will cut more than a quarter of its North American manufacturing jobs and close 12 facilities by 2008. The United Auto Workers called the plan "devastating" and warned it will make negotiations more difficult, but some Wall Street analysts said GM's actions may not go far enough.

To get production in line with demand, GM will cut 30,000 jobs and will close nine assembly, stamping and powertrain plants and three parts facilities. The job cuts represent 27 percent of GM's hourly jobs and about 17 percent of its overall North American work force of 173,000.

GM's U.S. market share fell to 26.2 percent in the first 10 months of this year compared with 33 percent a decade ago, the result of increasing competition from Asian rivals. GM lost almost $4 billion in the first nine months of this year

"The decisions we are announcing today were very difficult to reach because of their impact on our employees and the communities where we live and work," GM Chairman and Chief Executive Rick Wagoner said. "But these actions are necessary for GM to get its costs in line with our major global competitors."

GM isn't the only U.S. automaker cutting costs. Last week, Ford Motor Co. told employees it plans to eliminate about 4,000 white-collar jobs in North America early next year as part of a restructuring plan.

GM said the plant closings are part of a plan to shave $7 billion off its $42 billion annual bill for operations by the end of next year. That includes a $3 billion cut in health care costs, $1.5 billion in manufacturing cuts and $1 billion in savings on materials.

The company's shares fell 47 cents, or 2 percent, to close $23.58 in trading on the New York Stock Exchange. They have traded in a 52-week range of $20.60 to $40.82.

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, which lowered GM's debt to "junk" status earlier this year, said the company remains on credit watch. S&P said the staff cuts are substantial but may not be adequate considering GM's problems, including a possible strike at Delphi Corp., its largest supplier; an ongoing federal investigation into accounting errors; and an uncertain outlook for its new lineup of full-size sport utility vehicles, which may fall victim to consumer concerns about gas prices.

Goldman Sachs analyst Robert Barry said those headwinds could offset any gains from the cuts.

"We are not confident the restructuring addresses the core issue that GM brings too much supply to the North American market," Barry said in a note to investors.

GM has 77 facilities in North America, including 30 assembly plants, 23 stamping plants and 24 engine and transmission plants, spokesman Stefan Weinmann said.

Wagoner said the job cuts will come primarily through attrition and early-retirement packages to mitigate the impact on workers. GM has an annual attrition rate of about 7 percent, Wagoner said. The average hourly worker is around 49 years old, he said.

Some workers who don't choose to retire could go into jobs banks, which pay laid-off workers their salary and benefits. Wagoner said details about layoffs and early-retirement packages still need to be worked out with the UAW, the Canadian Auto Workers and other unions.

Earlier this month, GM's U.S. hourly workers agreed to pay more for their health care benefits, a concession UAW leaders said was necessary because of GM's financial status. But the union responded angrily to GM's latest announcement, saying the company needs to design attractive and exciting vehicles instead of trying to shrink its way to prosperity.

"Workers have no control over GM's capital investment, product development, design, marketing and advertising decisions. But, unfortunately, it is workers, their families and our communities that are being forced to suffer because of the failures of others," UAW President Ron Gettelfinger and Vice President Richard Shoemaker said in a joint statement.

The plan will cut the number of vehicles GM is able to build in North America by about 1 million a year by the end of 2008. GM will be able to build about 4.2 million vehicles a year in North America, down 30 percent from 2002. Wagoner said GM's plants are increasingly flexible and will be able to add capacity to meet market demands.

The decrease could help Toyota Motor Corp. surpass GM in worldwide production, although it's unclear if that could happen, because GM is growing rapidly in Asia, said Greg Gardner of Harbour Consulting, a manufacturing consulting firm. Toyota expects to products 8.1 million vehicles this year, while GM expects to produce 9 million, he said.

Wagoner said the plan would get GM's North American plants running at 100 percent of their capacity rather than 85 percent, as they do now. In 2004, Toyota had the most productive plants in North America, with six plants that ran at 107 percent of their capacity, according to the Harbour Report, which measures manufacturing productivity.

The plants that are closing make a variety of vehicles. GM didn't target plants where it makes full-size trucks and SUVs, products it's counting on for a comeback. Instead, it's significantly reducing its capacity to produce minivans like the Buick Terraza, mid-size SUVs like the GMC Envoy and mid-size sedans like the Buick LaCrosse. It's also ending production at the Lansing plant that produces the slow-selling Chevrolet SSR, a small pickup.

Wagoner said GM has no plans to kill off any of its eight brands. He added that plants were chosen for closure based on overcapacity of their products in the market, the life span of various products and the state of the facilities.

"Frankly, we've done it in the fairest and most cost-effective way we could do it," Wagoner said.

GM said assembly plants will close in Oklahoma City, Lansing, Mich., Doraville, Ga., and Ontario, Canada. One production line will close and one will remain open in Spring Hill, Tenn. The company is removing shifts at plants in Moraine, Ohio, and Ontario.

An engine facility in Flint, Mich., will close, along with a separate powertrain facility in Ontario and metal centers in Lansing and Pittsburgh.

Wagoner said GM also will close three service and parts operations facilities. They are in Ypsilanti, Mich., and Portland, Ore. One other site will to be announced later.

GM has been crippled by high labor, pension, health care and materials costs, as well as by sagging demand for sport utility vehicles, its longtime cash cow. It could be facing a strike at Delphi, which filed for bankruptcy protection last month. GM spun off Delphi in 1999 and may be liable for billions in pension costs for Delphi retirees.

Last week, after the automaker's shares fell to their lowest level since 1987, Wagoner sent an e-mail to employees saying the company has a turnaround strategy in place and has no plans to file for bankruptcy. Wagoner repeated that Monday, and added that he continues to have the board's support and hasn't considered stepping down.

"I have given no thought to anything but turning the business around," Wagoner said. "I wasn't brought up to run and hide when things get tough."

Wagoner said the job cuts are part of a larger restructuring plan that includes the possible sale of a controlling interest in General Motors Acceptance Corp., GM's profitable finance arm. Wagoner said bankruptcy talk hasn't affected those plans and the company has had conversations with some possible buyers.

[Robbert]

Het lijkt mij dat GM gewoon gaat snijden in de productiecapaciteit. Immers de vaste kosten zijn bij een dergelijke kapitaalintensieve industrie de grootste kostenpost.

Of het werkt?

Waarschijnlijk niet. Amerikanen kiezen toch meer voor energiezuinige autos dan GM in het algemeen maakt.

Het zou mij niets verbazen als GM over zeg een jaar of twee toch in surseanace gaat.

[Leonardo da Vinci]

"The decisions we are announcing today were very difficult to reach because of their impact on our employees and the communities where we live and work,"

.......Some workers who don't choose to retire could go into jobs banks, which pay laid-off workers their salary and benefits.

......He added that plants were chosen for closure based on overcapacity of their products in the market, the life span of various products and the state of the facilities.

"Frankly, we've done it in the fairest and most cost-effective way we could do it," Wagoner said.

GM said assembly plants will close in Oklahoma City, Lansing, Mich., Doraville, Ga., and Ontario, Canada. One production line will close and one will remain open in Spring Hill, Tenn. The company is removing shifts at plants in Moraine, Ohio, and Ontario.


GM has been crippled by high labor, pension, health care and materials costs, as well as by sagging demand for sport utility vehicles, its longtime cash cow. It could be facing a strike at Delphi, which filed for bankruptcy protection last month.



"I have given no thought to anything but turning the business around," Wagoner said. "I wasn't brought up to run and hide when things get tough."

Wagoner said the job cuts are part of a larger restructuring plan that includes the possible sale of a controlling interest in General Motors Acceptance Corp., GM's profitable finance arm. Wagoner said bankruptcy talk hasn't affected those plans and the company has had conversations with some possible buyers.

[/quote]

Het is natuurlijk verzachtend om te weten dat het pijnlijk en moeilijk "besloten" werd.
Maar zo gaat dat altijd waneer de omringende wereld groter is als het dorp. Het concern moet nou eenmaal eerst snijden om zijn nieuwe takken te laten groeien.

[Robbert]

"The decisions we are announcing today were very difficult to reach because of their impact on our employees and the communities where we live and work,"

.......Some workers who don't choose to retire could go into jobs banks, which pay laid-off workers their salary and benefits.

......He added that plants were chosen for closure based on overcapacity of their products in the market, the life span of various products and the state of the facilities.

"Frankly, we've done it in the fairest and most cost-effective way we could do it," Wagoner said.

GM said assembly plants will close in Oklahoma City, Lansing, Mich., Doraville, Ga., and Ontario, Canada. One production line will close and one will remain open in Spring Hill, Tenn. The company is removing shifts at plants in Moraine, Ohio, and Ontario.


GM has been crippled by high labor, pension, health care and materials costs, as well as by sagging demand for sport utility vehicles, its longtime cash cow. It could be facing a strike at Delphi, which filed for bankruptcy protection last month.



"I have given no thought to anything but turning the business around," Wagoner said. "I wasn't brought up to run and hide when things get tough."

Wagoner said the job cuts are part of a larger restructuring plan that includes the possible sale of a controlling interest in General Motors Acceptance Corp., GM's profitable finance arm. Wagoner said bankruptcy talk hasn't affected those plans and the company has had conversations with some possible buyers.

Het is natuurlijk verzachtend om te weten dat het pijnlijk en moeilijk "besloten" werd.
Maar zo gaat dat altijd waneer de omringende wereld groter is als het dorp. Het concern moet nou eenmaal eerst snijden om zijn nieuwe takken te laten groeien.[/quote]Ik geloof er niets van dat GM nieuwe takken wil ontwikkelen. Zij gaan gewoon terug naar hun core business. Alleen ik vrees dat het te laatkomt.

[Leonardo da Vinci]

De redenering daarachter zie ik niet.
General Motors omzeilt de vakbonden met zijn groei in het door hun onvermijdelijke richting, pacten gesloten met bv SAAB. Verder is er gewoon sprake van recessie of nongrowth in GM s domestic market, en dat fenomeen kent Ford dus ook al. Nu kan het concern zich concentreren op zijn eigen kennis.
Het is gewoon een formule om te boel te herorganizeren.

[jelger]

als jullie het niet erg vinden plaats ik nog even een verse "editoon" mbt GM.