GM starts telling workers plants will be idled

[kwame k]

By TOM KRISHER, AP Auto Writer Tom Krisher, Ap Auto Writer – 31 mins ago
DETROIT – General Motors Corp. is starting to tell its workers about plans to temporarily close most of its factories for more than two months to control inventories due to sagging sales.

United Auto Workers Local 276 President Enrique Flores in Arlington, Texas, says he was told Thursday that his factory will close for nine weeks starting May 11. The plant makes big sport utility vehicles such as the Chevrolet Suburban. Flores says the plant is to reopen July 13.

Other union officials say they have meetings scheduled Thursday to discuss production changes.

Three people briefed on GM's plans said Wednesday that nearly all its factories will be closed for up to nine weeks from May to July.

Link

[kwame k]

....and so it begins.

[Nickdfresh]

I don't think it is the "End" yet. Sales are down, and "floorplans" for cars at dealerships are enormously expensive and kill any profit...

[LoungeMachine]

Where is the press release dateline Detroit stating that the new high-mpg / alt fuel cars are ready to be rolled out.......

This is like reading 100 years ago that the buggy whip mfgs are having to cut back on hours......



And tell me again what their excuses are for not selling us the same cars they sell in Europe getting 40-50 mpg?????

[FORD]

And tell me again what their excuses are for not selling us the same cars they sell in Europe getting 40-50 mpg?????

Well, some of them are diesel engines. So there are somewhat legitimate issues there.... environmental restrictions on regular diesel, and a supply problem with biodiesel.

The latter could be solved easily enough by cutting the goddamn FrankenCorn industry out of the loop, legalizing hemp and using a much more efficient source for the biofuels. Corn (even the organic family farm grown kind) will never be sustainable for a good biofuel suply.

[kwame k]

They'll never go for hemp and bio-fuel will be the Beta Max or 8-track of this generation.
The farmers who are producing this corn and the lobbyist/politician's who are making money/votes off of this have no incentive to make it more efficient.

Really, I don't see this being the answer. There are so many different forms of propulsion, leaving this up to lobbyist and oil companies is beyond stupid. Cars will never change unless there's a demand from the consumer for change and that can't happen until there is a cheap and efficient alternative to gas/oil.

[Big Train]

Honestly, this is the healthiest thing for the company. By that, I don't mean taking this prolonged, torturous for all path of idling the plants. GM needs to be parted out and they need to be run as separate companies.

The only way to unlock them from their old ways of doing business, is to downsize them volume wise and let them be independent with outside financing. An independent Buick or Hummer might be much more apt to try new technologies (Hummer running Bio or low sulfur diesel is a no brainer for ex., or an electric Buick which keep the old folks happy), than the "overall mandate" laid down by GM for cost controls across the board.

Going that route will keep more full time employees actually employed building vehicles people want. It has to start there.

[hideyoursheep]

THe Hummer is made in Mexico. Big profit margin for GM. Low cost operation, and you've seen the sticker. I wouldn't own one of those POS vehicles. Better off with a Reliant K.

Bottom line is the employees all suffer from mgmt.'s bad decisions. It's not the guys on the floor, it's the guys who tell them to keep building shit cars that never evolve, because it costs them money. Now it's coming back to bite them in the ass. No word on the Mexico plant shutting down? Hmm..

[Big Train]

Exactly, which is why they should be smaller companies with groups more willing to innovate faster.

[Nitro Express]

When I started college. General Motors was the largest corporation in the US. It was number one on the Fortune 500. Now General Motors is going to go bankrupt, it will be broken up into pieces and bought up cheap by foreign investors. Just another example how the US economy has been ruined.

[Nitro Express]

All I can say is I'm glad I paid the penaltys and cashed out my 401K when everyone still thought they were going to get rich overnight day trading .com stocks and flipping real estate.

[Nitro Express]

THe Hummer is made in Mexico. Big profit margin for GM. Low cost operation, and you've seen the sticker. I wouldn't own one of those POS vehicles. Better off with a Reliant K.

Bottom line is the employees all suffer from mgmt.'s bad decisions. It's not the guys on the floor, it's the guys who tell them to keep building shit cars that never evolve, because it costs them money. Now it's coming back to bite them in the ass. No word on the Mexico plant shutting down? Hmm..

Mexican made Suberbans are pieces of shit as well. I had one and it burned oil. After a big go around with the dealer they finally changed the engine out and then the front transaxle had catastrophic failure at 30,000 miles. I cut my losses and sold the piece of shit and then the sucker that bought it experienced catastrophic transmission failure.

[Nitro Express]

The Japanese will hire UAW workers in a heartbeat. Exactly. The shit always flows downhill and Corporate America has been a sewer for a long time.

[Nitro Express]

Where is the press release dateline Detroit stating that the new high-mpg / alt fuel cars are ready to be rolled out.......

This is like reading 100 years ago that the buggy whip mfgs are having to cut back on hours......



And tell me again what their excuses are for not selling us the same cars they sell in Europe getting 40-50 mpg?????

The CEO's were making $50 million a year no matter how they managed the company. Also GM seemed to always be more interested in being a finance company that a car company. When the CEO pay ratio went from 20:1 from a line worker to 500:1, the pressure to manage well kind of goes out the window.

[Big Train]

GM it seems is putting Pontiac out of it's misery. Your orig GTO is now officially a Dussenburg.

Pontiac Headed for Junk Yard - WSJ.com

It will be purchased by foreign investor who do nothing with it and they sell it back to an upstart American firm who breathes new life into it. Which will end up doing for it what GM should have done all along.