This is relitively minor compared to the amounts given and to be given to banks.
Forget about the banks and what is wrong with that. The loans to the Big 3 or any other industry is a separate issue.
Before I think giving a loan is okay, explain to me why the auto industry can not adjust its size and costs to the proper level. Why can't the B3 adjust their costs to meet their revenues and profits? Aren't all the reasons they're spending more than they bring in within the parties (pensioners, workers, dealers, and execs) power to change? Why should we the taxpayer give them money instead of these parties rewriting their contracts?
Let me say again "Why should we the taxpayer give them money instead of these parties rewriting their contracts?" If the B3 are losing money then they can't afford the number of workers they have, the number of plants, their advertising budgets, and to continue to pay their pensioners benefits. They need to REWRITE their contracts. It is THEIR REFUSAL to rewrite their contracts, and CUT their size that is causing their loss of money.
It is illogical and immoral to ask the taxpayer who is making $35K - $40K / year with no pension and maybe no health care to subsidize people who make more and have better benefits! :mad:
Before I think giving a loan is okay, explain to me why the auto industry can not adjust its size and costs to the proper level. Agree Let me say again "Why should we the taxpayer give them money instead of these parties rewriting their contracts?" Agree It is illogical and immoral to ask the taxpayer who is making $35K - $40K / year with no pension and maybe no health care to subsidize people who make more and have better benefits Agree Well, said and I agree 100%
Agree that they need to do all of those things. Bailout should have lots of strings attached. Sen Corker had good suggestions on what needs to be done, such as haircuts for bond holders, UAW agreeing to compensation levels similar to foreign based auto mfrs, etc. Gettelfinger did not want to abide to Corker idea.
Believe that bailout is considered a loan from US govt.
Here is a company with 30,000 employees that due to past mismanagement and the current recession, is closing its doors. I'm sure this will strengthen those competitiors that remain - i.e. Best Buy will do better.
Agree that they need to do all of those things. Bailout should have lots of strings attached.
Yes but what the bailout did was change the urgency and schedule for change. GM, the UAW, the dealers, and suppliers want to delay change for as long as possible, because some or all of them will be hurt. What the bailout did was allow the B3 to change as little as they must to keep in business or keep the wrath of Congress from them. If the bailout hadn't gone thru, calling the B3 execs. and UAW bluff, then we might have had change in a few days! How?
Well if the choice is to a) shutdown in a few weeks and lose everything, or to b) lock the parties in a room until new agreements were written and the business could survive, then most rational people would do b). The loans should have been denied, and b) would have been done (by now).
Instead what we have now is TALK about cuts ... maybe this, what if we do that, AND they're bleeding the loan $. The longer this change takes the more likely all the loan $ will be spent with no chance for the companies to make a profit, and they'll be back asking for more.
What the U.S. Congress did is basically "gave the kid next week's allowance, for a promise that the kid will take out the waste sometime soon".
It would have been easy enough for Congress to say to the B3 and Gettelfinger that 1st day of hearings - "Gentlemen call your suppliers, and your dealer reps. and get them and their lawyers here, and we have a conference room reserved for you. Start rewriting your contracts, so you're at least breaking even. Then come back up here 3 days from now, and we'll discuss a loan."
It was a lot more than 34,000 nationally that obtained undeserved mortgages on homes they couldn't afford so who are we to feel sorry for in those cases?
What you are saying is kind of in line with Sen Corker and some other Republican Senators. If Congress were controlled by Republicans, your scenario might have well played out. It is the Democrat Senators and Reps mostly who are beholden to unions and UAW that prevented a type of chapter 11 reorg. Then, Bush stepped in at the last minute to release funds so that Big 3 would not fall on his watch.
Look, let's face it, between Democrats who are beholden to the UAW, and Republicans who are beholden to Big Corporate, there were never going to be any real strings.
I'm sure not ALL 34K Circuit City employees got themselves over their heads with subprime mortgages. Lots of idiots did screw themselves buying more house than they could possibly afford. The key to home affordability is two remarkably simple formulas:
Gross Annual Income X 3 = MAXIMUM Mortgage. Total Mortgage / 100 = MAXIMUM Monthly Payment.
For instance - if your gross income is $70K, the most your mortgage should be is $210K.
$210K / 100 = $2,100.
Even then, $2,100 is a heck of a burden for somebody only making $70K gross. I'd try to work down from that figure.
I agree completely. when we bought our house we were at the top of that maximum but that was based only on my income and we knew my wife would be working shortly and it was doable. I wouldn't think of going over that.
Had i believed everything I read before the real estate bubble burst they'd have lent me twice what I paid for the house on an equity loan. Not a chance.
2015 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, 2014 Mazda 3 Sport Hatchback, 1999 Mazda Miata 2004 Toyota Camry LE, 1999.
I got my place before the bubble really started to grow. Had I waited a year, I realistically couldn't afford my own place even though the mortgage people were willing to throw me enough money to practically buy a Main Line mansion! I got a little "smart" with one crafty broker. I said to him:
"Let me look into my crystal ball. A friend comes over to see me in my new house financed by your company. My friend says to me, 'What a beautiful house you have, Lemko!' I say, 'Thank you! Let me show you around! There's my milk crate entertainment center complete with a Philco black and white portable, my Sears all-in-one AM/FM 8-track stereo and all my K-tel cartridges. In here is my cable spool kitchen table with expended beer kegs for seats, if you look in front of my huge 3-car garage you'll see my orange 1973 hatchback with the brown door. Would you like some dinner? I've got ramen noodles and a six-pack of OId Milwaukee! Oops, sorry! I'm late for my third job at Wal~Mart!"
Actually, I bought my current place in January 2003. I had another place prior that I lived in since May 1992, but the neighborhood started going bad, so l left. It's a really good thing I did because in the last week a heroin stash house was uncovered and two clerks were shot in a stand-off after a botched robbery of a pharmacy. Both were within a block of my old place. Sad, because the neighborhood was beautiful 10-15 years ago.
Philly didn't experience the housing bubble like places like Los Angeles, Phoenix, Miami, or Las Vegas. Some places in the nicer suburbs got ridiculous and I shunned them like an ebola-infested gorilla! Today, I pass all those formerly pricy places and they have one thing in common - For Sale signs.
My current mortgage+homeowner's insurance+taxes payment is < $1,000! I just hope my current 'hood doesn't suffer the same fate as my old one. The good thing is, they are actually building new homes in my neighborhood that start at $300K! Good luck finding buyers in this economic climate!
No. No. No. The deal was to get a 100% loan on a new home, which is okay, knowing that the value of housing was going up 10% per year. You were supposed to buy the house, and then a month later go down the bank, get them to reappraise the house higher, and then take a home equity loan on that higher appraisal to buy your furniture.
If the appraisal wasn't high enough for all your furniture, then you would get some high limit credit cards; because after all you're the type of person who could afford an expensive house.
Either they were a bunch of crooks, or idiots; OR both.
Now has anyone here figured out how long it will take for GM and Chrysler to payback the loans. Do a best-case study - taking the highest profit either had in the last 10 years, and figuring they'll make 50% of that each year on average going forward (so if GM made 2 billion in their best year, let's say GM makes $1B every year from now on).
Also consider this. Stockholders buy a stock to share in the profits. If all GM's profits go to repay the loan, why is anyone going to want GM stock for years?
Aaaaghhh! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! I would NEVER draw on the equity of my home except as a last-ditch Hail Mary attempt to stave-off a temporary financial set-back after I've exhausted every other option. A cash-advance against a credit card causes one to take a bigger bath than being thrown off the Queen Mary wearing cement shoes in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean!
The type who can "afford" an expensive house are usually the type who can "afford" to buy a big blingy SUV with the wheels that keep on spinnin' and spinnin' and spinnin'!
Watch HGTV on cable or satellite to see first time house buyers getting approved for big loans and zero down. These episodes were made maybe from 2005 to mid 2008. These were young couples maybe living in an apt or were scheduled to get married soon. Besides financial mess contributed to by banks, lending institutions, Barney Frank, Maxine Waters, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, maybe HGTV deserves some blame for showing episodes of zero down home buying and glorifying the got-to-have-it-now mentality.
>Watch HGTV on cable or satellite to see first time house buyers getting approved for big loans and zero down. These episodes were made maybe from 2005 to mid 2008.
I noticed the shows on flipping started carrying a disclaimer on one cable network and there aren't many of them anymore. For a while last summer and early fall they were everywhere. People were buying on loans to spend a few weeks or months rebuilding a house and then sell it for a profit.!!!
Good riddens to Circuit City, they were on my ****list along with Chrysler.
Best Buy is on the list too, but they are the last man standing really, with no competition in southern California it looks like.
I think the Mom & Pop electronic stores can now make a comeback, as we come full circle, or will it be the internet shops that take over?
But where will people go and look at the merchandise, test it out, since there are no more physical stores? All the frugal people out there did the smart thing and went to the store to figure out what was best, but then got online and saved 25% for the same product they tested in the store.
Obama needs to give the people the money, forget about the horrible corporations and businesses like the Big 3.
'18 Porsche Macan Turbo, '16 Audi TTS, Wife's '19 VW Tiguan SEL 4-Motion
i have had a problem with the big brick and mortar retailers that also sell on line when i ordered something, that it turns out to be an item that has been repackaged. this can happen with in store merchanise too. we bought a phone that would not recognize the remote units. it fiddling with it, i found out the caller id memory full. it looked like this phone had been by at least 3 other people. oh, this is about the B3 automakers.
2024 Ford F-150 STX, 2023 Ford Explorer ST, 91 Mustang GT vert
kernick: Now has anyone here figured out how long it will take for GM and Chrysler to payback the loans. Do a best-case study - taking the highest profit either had in the last 10 years, and figuring they'll make 50% of that each year on average going forward (so if GM made 2 billion in their best year, let's say GM makes $1B every year from now on).
I recall reading that it would take something like 20 years of record profits for GM to ever repay ALL of its debt (not just the government "loans" - remember, GM was already up to its eyeballs in debt before it received its financial aid package).
There was an interesting article on another website - it said that just as the U.S. needs an "exit strategy for Iraq, the Obama Administration needs to develop an exit strategy for Detroit. The article basically advocated cutting off all aid until the dealers, bondholders, union and shareholders reach an agreement that will truly make the company viable. That means a drastic revamping of the UAW contract, a cramdown of current debt, and elimination of all divisions except Chevrolet and Cadillac (personally, I'd also keep Buick and GMC, but then can the rest).
It would basically be a bankruptcy in everything but name only, but done under government supervision.
Which is really what GM needs, because based on the pathetic "plan" released by GM in the wake of those Congressional hearings, we are about to witness the creation of American Leyland, right here in the good old U.S. of A. - courtesy of our tax dollars.
Doesn't anybody in Detroit, Washington, DC, or Harvard Business School understand that any bailout is a one way gift that can't be repaid & in the process only delays the inevitable?
Knowledgeable investors are putting their money elsewhere. We taxpayers should do no less.
...We''ll give you more time to make a case for more cash. Make sure that you point to the huge demand destruction we face each week since we approved the first batch of loans. Don't worry about the salaries. You might have to axe Wagoner to make it look good
Upon observing what a lousy job these HBS grads have done, I'm glad I saved my money and went to a crappy state university. Obviously, they haven't learned much despite the much higher cost of tuition. I bet there's guys who are high school dropouts who are shrewder businessmen than these pompous empty suits with their fancy degrees and connections.
Infinite greed combined with a complete lack of ability to embrace longterm viability over short term profits...pretty much the definition of modern corporate thought.
And these same people will craft any bailouts, just as finely as they've allowed the shortsighted irresponsible banks to rob what's left of the treasury. Economic terrorists, really.
Maybe we'd be better off if the Asians ran our businesses. From what I've seen our supposedly prestigious Ivy League schools put out arrogant graduates who end up either crooks or incompetents.
I don't know. Didn't those Asians also go to the same schools? Maybe the Asians went to class and studied while their American counterparts were too busy trying to re-enact "Animal House?" I guess it isn't so funny when Bluto Blutarski is running Citibank!
Maybe financial/corporate leadership positions should be outsourced/offshored in the manner that the aforementioned economic terrorists have outsourced/offshored real jobs. Could the result be any worse, really?
LIke a current prominent politician? Would be interesting to see an analysis of all failed banks, investment firms and the degrees/schools of their top management. :P
A reporter from a large national newspaper would like to speak to consumers who are holding onto their cars versus selling them or buying a new one because of economic uncertainties. Please respond to ctalati@edmunds.com with your daytime contact information no later than Friday, January 30, 2009.
MODERATOR /ADMINISTRATOR Find me at kirstie_h@edmunds.com - or send a private message by clicking on my name. 2015 Kia Soul, 2021 Subaru Forester (kirstie_h), 2024 GMC Sierra 1500 (mr. kirstie_h) Review your vehicle
DETROIT — General Motors Corp. said Monday it would lay off 2,000 workers at two assembly plants in Michigan and Ohio and temporarily idle another nine North American assembly plants in response to weak demand.
GM said it would cut second shifts of workers at plants in Lordstown, Ohio, and Delta Township near Lansing, Michigan. Those moves will slow production of the Chevrolet Cobalt and a trio of crossover vehicles including the Buick Enclave.
The production cuts come at a time when U.S. auto sales are near their lowest level since the early 1980s and will add to rising unemployment claims as well as pressure on the struggling auto parts supply sector.
GM's planned shift reduction will mean 800 layoffs at the Lordstown plant and 1,200 at the Delta Township plant, GM spokeswoman Susan Waun said.
“We're just continuing to bring our production in line with market demand,” Ms. Waun said.
GM factory workers in the United States are represented by the United Auto Workers.
The union is expected to surrender a controversial provision of its current contract that guarantees nearly full wages to auto workers whose jobs are eliminated as a condition of winning support for GM's $13.4-billion (U.S.) federal bailout.
The 2,000 workers on the eliminated shifts in GM's Michigan and Ohio plants will be eligible to collect just over 70 per cent of their normal wages through benefits provided by GM and state unemployment benefits for 48 weeks, Ms. Waun said.
Just as an extra note: My son-in-law always buys American finally bought a Lexus R Hybrid. His last 2 cars were Suburbans. The Lexus is so superior in every way, and it is so advanced in technology and ergonomics and styling...makes the Suburban pretty crude. I think it is another customer lost for the D3.
A lot of people here in CA would love to have what the UAW workers are getting for not working. That is about $840 per week just double the top unemployment in CA. No wonder the UAW guys don't mind a layoff.
Just as an extra note: My son-in-law always buys American finally bought a Lexus R Hybrid. His last 2 cars were Suburbans. The Lexus is so superior in every way, and it is so advanced in technology and ergonomics and styling...makes the Suburban pretty crude. I think it is another customer lost for the D3.
My dad who has always bought domestic cars, primarily Fords for the past 40 years just bought his first foreign car Friday, an 09 Accord EX-L v6. The thing is, his past two Fords made to 200k miles relatively trouble free and he was happy with them. He has been looking for a replacement for his '00 Taurus and just didn't see anything he liked at Ford or GM for under $30k (he really liked the CTS, but he didn't want to spend that much and preferred FWD). He told me he wasn't old enough for Buick regardless of what they have out, and he didn't like the Malibu. He liked how the Fusion/Milan drove, but didn't like the styling inside and out, so he jumped ship. The bleeding for Detroit is far from over.
The distancing from Buick must be a Boomer thing. My MIL said the same thing when she & my FIL (retired union steel worker) bought there first foreign car ('05 Camry). I told her to look at a LaCrosse, and she refused, stating she wanted no part of owning a Buick.
My mother, in her 6th decade, too thinks a Buick is too stodgy for her. I was suggesting she look at a Lucerne for her next car (low miles used one that has depreciated), but when I spotted one in traffic, it had a Red Hat Society sticker on it....dealbreaker.
I spotted one in traffic, it had a Red Hat Society sticker on it....dealbreaker.
Man, that's to funny. Well not really... I guess. I also mentioned a used Lucerne to my dad. With the huge amount these cars depreciate, they are a great deal to buy used. My dad's still a couple years from 60 and has it his head that Buick's are for the nearly dead. I wouldn't buy one either, but the 2010 lacrosse looks pretty sweet and a great car from Buick could certainly change my views towards the brand.
bought his first foreign car Friday, an 09 Accord EX-L v6.
The best car GM has out in the mid price range is the Malibu. At least it is more up to date than other models. I have been in a Malibu and in an Accord and for me it is no contest.....the Accord wins in every category I can think of.
I think that a major problem that Buick is dealing with is people my age (mid 50s). Young enough to think they are for folks older than us - but the supply of such people is shrinking. It's not like I'm going to wake up in a few years and say "I'm 60. Time for a Buick!"
2015 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, 2014 Mazda 3 Sport Hatchback, 1999 Mazda Miata 2004 Toyota Camry LE, 1999.
Comments
OK, PUNK! I'll give you under 10 MM SAAR in Q1 AT BEST!
Here is a little forecast regarding energy for you to chew on while we wait for the NEXT GM forecast.
$25/bbl Oil
Make My DAY! Go AHEAD!
Regards,
OW
Forget about the banks and what is wrong with that. The loans to the Big 3 or any other industry is a separate issue.
Before I think giving a loan is okay, explain to me why the auto industry can not adjust its size and costs to the proper level. Why can't the B3 adjust their costs to meet their revenues and profits? Aren't all the reasons they're spending more than they bring in within the parties (pensioners, workers, dealers, and execs) power to change? Why should we the taxpayer give them money instead of these parties rewriting their contracts?
Let me say again "Why should we the taxpayer give them money instead of these parties rewriting their contracts?" If the B3 are losing money then they can't afford the number of workers they have, the number of plants, their advertising budgets, and to continue to pay their pensioners benefits. They need to REWRITE their contracts. It is THEIR REFUSAL to rewrite their contracts, and CUT their size that is causing their loss of money.
It is illogical and immoral to ask the taxpayer who is making $35K - $40K / year with no pension and maybe no health care to subsidize people who make more and have better benefits! :mad:
Agree
Let me say again "Why should we the taxpayer give them money instead of these parties rewriting their contracts?"
Agree
It is illogical and immoral to ask the taxpayer who is making $35K - $40K / year with no pension and maybe no health care to subsidize people who make more and have better benefits
Agree
Well, said and I agree 100%
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
$25/bbl Oil"
Then why did the gas in my area go up $0.20 in the past 3 weeks?????/ :mad:
Gas should be down to $1.20 a gallon now....
Believe that bailout is considered a loan from US govt.
It's only a loan if the receiver has the ability to pay it back...... What are the monthly payments on a $13B payment?
http://money.cnn.com/2009/01/16/news/companies/circuit_city/index.htm?postversio- n=2009011611
Whether GM or Chrysler go out of business, Ford and the remaining company would be strengthened.
Yes but what the bailout did was change the urgency and schedule for change. GM, the UAW, the dealers, and suppliers want to delay change for as long as possible, because some or all of them will be hurt. What the bailout did was allow the B3 to change as little as they must to keep in business or keep the wrath of Congress from them. If the bailout hadn't gone thru, calling the B3 execs. and UAW bluff, then we might have had change in a few days! How?
Well if the choice is to a) shutdown in a few weeks and lose everything, or to b) lock the parties in a room until new agreements were written and the business could survive, then most rational people would do b). The loans should have been denied, and b) would have been done (by now).
Instead what we have now is TALK about cuts ... maybe this, what if we do that, AND they're bleeding the loan $. The longer this change takes the more likely all the loan $ will be spent with no chance for the companies to make a profit, and they'll be back asking for more.
What the U.S. Congress did is basically "gave the kid next week's allowance, for a promise that the kid will take out the waste sometime soon".
It would have been easy enough for Congress to say to the B3 and Gettelfinger that 1st day of hearings - "Gentlemen call your suppliers, and your dealer reps. and get them and their lawyers here, and we have a conference room reserved for you. Start rewriting your contracts, so you're at least breaking even. Then come back up here 3 days from now, and we'll discuss a loan."
Regards,
OW
Gross Annual Income X 3 = MAXIMUM Mortgage.
Total Mortgage / 100 = MAXIMUM Monthly Payment.
For instance - if your gross income is $70K, the most your mortgage should be is $210K.
$210K / 100 = $2,100.
Even then, $2,100 is a heck of a burden for somebody only making $70K gross. I'd try to work down from that figure.
Had i believed everything I read before the real estate bubble burst they'd have lent me twice what I paid for the house on an equity loan. Not a chance.
"Let me look into my crystal ball. A friend comes over to see me in my new house financed by your company. My friend says to me, 'What a beautiful house you have, Lemko!' I say, 'Thank you! Let me show you around! There's my milk crate entertainment center complete with a Philco black and white portable, my Sears all-in-one AM/FM 8-track stereo and all my K-tel cartridges. In here is my cable spool kitchen table with expended beer kegs for seats, if you look in front of my huge 3-car garage you'll see my orange 1973 hatchback with the brown door. Would you like some dinner? I've got ramen noodles and a six-pack of OId Milwaukee! Oops, sorry! I'm late for my third job at Wal~Mart!"
Philly didn't experience the housing bubble like places like Los Angeles, Phoenix, Miami, or Las Vegas. Some places in the nicer suburbs got ridiculous and I shunned them like an ebola-infested gorilla! Today, I pass all those formerly pricy places and they have one thing in common - For Sale signs.
My current mortgage+homeowner's insurance+taxes payment is < $1,000! I just hope my current 'hood doesn't suffer the same fate as my old one. The good thing is, they are actually building new homes in my neighborhood that start at $300K! Good luck finding buyers in this economic climate!
If the appraisal wasn't high enough for all your furniture, then you would get some high limit credit cards; because after all you're the type of person who could afford an expensive house.
Either they were a bunch of crooks, or idiots; OR both.
Now has anyone here figured out how long it will take for GM and Chrysler to payback the loans. Do a best-case study - taking the highest profit either had in the last 10 years, and figuring they'll make 50% of that each year on average going forward (so if GM made 2 billion in their best year, let's say GM makes $1B every year from now on).
Also consider this. Stockholders buy a stock to share in the profits. If all GM's profits go to repay the loan, why is anyone going to want GM stock for years?
The type who can "afford" an expensive house are usually the type who can "afford" to buy a big blingy SUV with the wheels that keep on spinnin' and spinnin' and spinnin'!
I noticed the shows on flipping started carrying a disclaimer on one cable network and there aren't many of them anymore. For a while last summer and early fall they were everywhere. People were buying on loans to spend a few weeks or months rebuilding a house and then sell it for a profit.!!!
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Best Buy is on the list too, but they are the last man standing really, with no competition in southern California it looks like.
I think the Mom & Pop electronic stores can now make a comeback, as we come full circle, or will it be the internet shops that take over?
But where will people go and look at the merchandise, test it out, since there are no more physical stores? All the frugal people out there did the smart thing and went to the store to figure out what was best, but then got online and saved 25% for the same product they tested in the store.
Obama needs to give the people the money, forget about the horrible corporations and businesses like the Big 3.
this can happen with in store merchanise too.
we bought a phone that would not recognize the remote units.
it fiddling with it, i found out the caller id memory full.
it looked like this phone had been by at least 3 other people.
oh, this is about the B3 automakers.
If not now, when? If not here, where? If not me, who? If not this, what? If not this way, how? If not for this reason, why?
:P :P :P
I recall reading that it would take something like 20 years of record profits for GM to ever repay ALL of its debt (not just the government "loans" - remember, GM was already up to its eyeballs in debt before it received its financial aid package).
There was an interesting article on another website - it said that just as the U.S. needs an "exit strategy for Iraq, the Obama Administration needs to develop an exit strategy for Detroit. The article basically advocated cutting off all aid until the dealers, bondholders, union and shareholders reach an agreement that will truly make the company viable. That means a drastic revamping of the UAW contract, a cramdown of current debt, and elimination of all divisions except Chevrolet and Cadillac (personally, I'd also keep Buick and GMC, but then can the rest).
It would basically be a bankruptcy in everything but name only, but done under government supervision.
Which is really what GM needs, because based on the pathetic "plan" released by GM in the wake of those Congressional hearings, we are about to witness the creation of American Leyland, right here in the good old U.S. of A. - courtesy of our tax dollars.
Knowledgeable investors are putting their money elsewhere. We taxpayers should do no less.
Regards,
OW
Regards,
OW
And these same people will craft any bailouts, just as finely as they've allowed the shortsighted irresponsible banks to rob what's left of the treasury. Economic terrorists, really.
I'll also petition my congressmen to get Chrysler/Cerberus to immediaitely return the loan $ ! :mad:
Chintan Talati
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GM said it would cut second shifts of workers at plants in Lordstown, Ohio, and Delta Township near Lansing, Michigan. Those moves will slow production of the Chevrolet Cobalt and a trio of crossover vehicles including the Buick Enclave.
The production cuts come at a time when U.S. auto sales are near their lowest level since the early 1980s and will add to rising unemployment claims as well as pressure on the struggling auto parts supply sector.
GM's planned shift reduction will mean 800 layoffs at the Lordstown plant and 1,200 at the Delta Township plant, GM spokeswoman Susan Waun said.
“We're just continuing to bring our production in line with market demand,” Ms. Waun said.
GM factory workers in the United States are represented by the United Auto Workers.
The union is expected to surrender a controversial provision of its current contract that guarantees nearly full wages to auto workers whose jobs are eliminated as a condition of winning support for GM's $13.4-billion (U.S.) federal bailout.
The 2,000 workers on the eliminated shifts in GM's Michigan and Ohio plants will be eligible to collect just over 70 per cent of their normal wages through benefits provided by GM and state unemployment benefits for 48 weeks, Ms. Waun said.
Just as an extra note: My son-in-law always buys American finally bought a Lexus R Hybrid. His last 2 cars were Suburbans. The Lexus is so superior in every way, and it is so advanced in technology and ergonomics and styling...makes the Suburban pretty crude. I think it is another customer lost for the D3.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Regards,
OW
My dad who has always bought domestic cars, primarily Fords for the past 40 years just bought his first foreign car Friday, an 09 Accord EX-L v6. The thing is, his past two Fords made to 200k miles relatively trouble free and he was happy with them. He has been looking for a replacement for his '00 Taurus and just didn't see anything he liked at Ford or GM for under $30k (he really liked the CTS, but he didn't want to spend that much and preferred FWD). He told me he wasn't old enough for Buick regardless of what they have out, and he didn't like the Malibu. He liked how the Fusion/Milan drove, but didn't like the styling inside and out, so he jumped ship. The bleeding for Detroit is far from over.
The distancing from Buick must be a Boomer thing. My MIL said the same thing when she & my FIL (retired union steel worker) bought there first foreign car ('05 Camry). I told her to look at a LaCrosse, and she refused, stating she wanted no part of owning a Buick.
Man, that's to funny. Well not really... I guess. I also mentioned a used Lucerne to my dad. With the huge amount these cars depreciate, they are a great deal to buy used. My dad's still a couple years from 60 and has it his head that Buick's are for the nearly dead. I wouldn't buy one either, but the 2010 lacrosse looks pretty sweet and a great car from Buick could certainly change my views towards the brand.
Regards,
OW
The best car GM has out in the mid price range is the Malibu. At least it is more up to date than other models. I have been in a Malibu and in an Accord and for me it is no contest.....the Accord wins in every category I can think of.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Regards,
OW