Summer Shut Down For GM
Submitted by Michael Nystrom on Thu, 04/23/2009 - 09:32
in
This is really starting to look like a Depression.
DETROIT (AP) -- General Motors Corp. is planning to temporarily close most of its U.S. factories for up to nine weeks this summer because of slumping sales and growing inventories of unsold vehicles, three people briefed on the plan said Wednesday. Analysts say the company could be seeing sales decline because of talk about a potential bankruptcy.
The exact dates of the closures are not known, but the people said they will occur around the normal two-week shutdown in July when changes are made from one model year to the next. None of the people wanted to be identified because workers have not yet been told of the shutdowns.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/AP-SourcesGM-to-shut-many-US-a...
»
Watch the dominoes fall
With GM shutting down for 9 weeks, and Chrysler possibly going out of business, many suppliers will be forced to shut down, which means many will be forced out of business. Many will not be able to sustain through 9 weeks of essentially no business. This will also effect restaurants, party stores (as we call them in Mich.), etc. Anywhere where there is a plant, the effects will be seen. It seems America just doesn't realize how much of a role the auto companies play in our economy. It's not just the GM employees that will be affected. Far from it.
I'm glad Ford quality has surpassed Toyota, and Buick recently scored the #1 position for long term dependability. The Ford Fusion Hybrid gets better gas mileage and is an all around more comfortable car to drive than the Prius. I just hope it's not too late.
too bad
they can't just put their workers in the freezer and thaw them out when the economy improves.
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woo hoo!
this economy is not going to
this economy is not going to improve.
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Coming to a GM Dealership Near You: Buy One Get One Free!
The SUV of your choice!
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What's the point of that?
Don't those union people get all or nearly all their pay if they're laid off? How will that save money? I would love to have a 9 week paid vacation!! :)
Gm shutdown
The 9 Week GM shutdown is mainly for the purpose of reducing inventory. They have enough cars already built right now to last the summer. No sense in making more cars if the inventory is that large already.
It's 70-80% of Pay-I call it Paid Vacation
www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/localnews/news8/stories/...
on the Taxpayer to boot
Ok, I understand that. But, if the
workers are still being paid, how will that have an adverse affect on them. I have long believed there is absolutely NO incentive for the union workers to produce quality cars. I mean it's not rocket science...if they don't sell cars then they get paid vacations for weeks on end. If they do produce quality cars then they have to remain on the job. The real problem is that these US auto manufacturers aren't producing cars anyone wants. That isn't going to change. They're poor quality and more expensive. It doesn't take a genius to figure it out. But those unions thought they were slick by
forcing benefits that reward themselves regardless...work or no work...into perpetuity.
"Building cars nobody wants"
That statement is simply not true. GM, Ford and Chrysler were raking in the cash in the 90's and early 2000's by building exactly the cars people wanted -----> SUV's and trucks. They couldn't build and sell them fast enough in those years. The problem is, they basically gave the small car segment to the foreign automakers, so when the price of gasoline skyrocketed, they didn't have the small cars to compete. Since the economic crash, new cars of all types are not selling. Look at the Toyata Prius. As far as "making cars people want", Toyota has postponed or cancelled its plans to build the Prius in the U.S.
I know in some instances that UAW members were paid 95% of their usual wages during layoffs, but that may have been limited to the infamous Jobs Bank. I do not think they will be receiving anything near full pay during this layoff but I can't find a figure anywhere in the Detroit media.
Any UAW members out there to set us straight?
I tell you, if I was a UAW member right now, I would not be happy about the fact of being out of work for 9 weeks, especially with what may come with the inevitable bankruptcy.
One small thing there...
They didn't compete in the small car segment because they couldn't... labor costs for smaller (read cheaper) cars were/are far too high for GM, Ford and in most of the Chrysler line. They could bake in the exorbant labor costs into the larger vehicles, is all.
I know this is a bit of a quandary in a ~too big to fail~ company... however, I'd rather lose the leg than the life.
~Live life to its fullest, with an open heart, open arms and most important... an open mind~
Ding Ding Ding
Devon wins the prize
That's true
That's true, I've always heard from Big 3 employees that they actually took a loss on small cars. The profit from the larger vehicles more than made up for it.
Here's a somewhat vague statement from the Free Press regarding how much money UAW members will receive during the 9 week layoff:
"UAW workers affected by the shutdown will be placed on temporary layoff, where they receive state unemployment benefits and company supplemental pay that roughly equals about 70% of their gross pay."
from:
http://www.freep.com/article/20090422/BUSINESS01/90422068/?i...
Don't know if that means unemployment benefits PLUS 70%, or if they together add up to 70%.
With 55,000 employees in those plants, GM will save a lot of $$$ by shutting down.
Hey UAW!
Aren't you glad you backed Obama now? He really came through for you guys didn't he?
CHANGE! CHANGE! WOOTY! WOOTY! CHANGE! CHANGE! CHANGE!
CHANGITY! CHANGEROO!
Truly sad
I live just outside of Detroit and very close to many of these plants. It's "only" nine weeks, but people will be hurting indeed. I have family that lives right off of the roads these plants sit on and there are about as many small business buildings emptying out as there are homes foreclosed in California.
Question is, how many of these people will be asked to come back after the 9 weeks are up? 9 weeks in this economy is an eternity. They're not done laying people off by any stretch of the imagination.
That's how it seems to go , I'm from the big three areas also
I watched fords close plants in windsor and detroit, Watched chrysler downsize in the last few years to it's now skeleton crew , and they may be closing for good in the next two weeks . Now it's just a matter of time . It's ironic isn't it the the company that seems to be the catalyst for this lately is called FIAT huh ?
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