GM Making the Cut?
A few days ago
(you have to read below my blog entry and into my follow-up comment) I listed GM's single biggest challenge as not being able to cut their employee count and production capacity to accurately reflect their current market share. Today Wagoner upped earlier employee layoffs and plant closing goals to try and fend off angry stockholders who are demanding his resignation. If GM really does lay off 30,000 employees and closes eight plants in the next few years, they will be better off than they are today. But will it be enough, or too little too late...
In other news, a Wall Street Journal story says Toyota is officially planning on being the world's largest automaker next year.
- Posted by
- Karl Brauer November 22, 2005, 12:42 AM
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- Domestic Manufacturers Problems/Challenges
I recently read that for every GM employee, there are six other people employed by suppliers and such.
If 30,000 people are really let go the ripple effect has the potential to be even greater. Isn't there a saying "how GM goes, so goes the economy". Maybe not as true today as it used to be, but these cuts will definitley have an effect on our economy.
Hopefully this will be a start in the right direction. Bankruptcy is not a viable alternative.
On a vehicle note -
It looks as though the SSR will be gone by the end of 2006 - I wonder how much GM lost on that program?
The ION will move to Lordstown for the next generation.
The Grand Prix and LaCrosse plant is closing in 2008. I am curious as to their replacement. Zeta vehicles would have been good.
GM has wa-aaay too much capacity. It's ironic that they are shipping jobs to places like Korea and China while Toyota is building more parts here and looking for more capacity.
why is being #1 on only significant when Toyota is about to pass GM in worldwide production? IN the past all the experts would praise Toyota for not being concerned about being #1 or having the greatest marketshare because Toyota was concerned about quality and profits. Now that they are poised to be #1 it is suddenly significant to be #1. I thin kGM has shown you can be #1 in sales and still be struggling.
Where did you read that GM is shipping jobs to Korea and China? None of the facilities slated for closure are being directly or indirectly replaced by facilities in China or Korea (or India or Mexico, frankly).
They are leveraging their worldwide engineering expertise (Korea/Daewoo - small cars like the Aveo, plus SUV's like the next-gen VUE/Equinox/et. al. - Australia - large RWD coupes and sedans, Europe - next-gen FWD small and mid-size cars). Assembly will still predominantly be done in North America.
The only significant model GM's imported from overseas for the U.S. is the Aveo, and that basically replaces the old Suzuki's they used to import (i.e. Metro).