By AP

Feb 12


General Motors Corp. reported a $38.7 billion loss for 2007 on Tuesday, the largest annual loss ever for an automotive company, and said it is making a new round of buyout offers to U.S. hourly workers in hopes of replacing some of them with lower-paid help.

The earnings report and buyout offer came as GM struggles to turn around its North American business as the economy weakens.

But GM Chairman and Chief Executive Rick Wagoner said that the company made significant progress in 2007, reducing structural costs in North America, negotiating a historic labor agreement and growing aggressively in Latin America and Asia.

The Detroit-based automaker said it was offering a new round of buyouts to all 74,000 of its U.S. hourly workers who are represented by the United Auto Workers.

GM won't say how many workers it hopes to shed, but under its new contract with the UAW, it will be able to replace up to 16,000 workers doing non-assembly jobs with new employees who will be paid half the old wage of $28 per hour.

Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC already have announced similar buyout offers.

 

I just find it hard to believe that they actually LOST 38 billion dollars. Seems that any company that lost that kinda money would have to shut the doors.

 

Also why is it that in the big corporations the little guy is the first to go. Why wouldn't the brass at the top step up and reduce their multi million dollar bonus programs until the company did a complete turnaround. You never seem to see that happen. Then comes the new guys trying to put cars together and the consumers suffering because the defect ratio skyrockets. Boy oh boy we are in for some interesting times ahead in the auto industry. Meanwhile Toyota is kicking some real ***. ( Hate to say that by the way)

 

Everything is being made in Asia now, and now it seems like GM cars are going to be made there too. Looking at it like that, it won't be too bad of an idea to try to do the same thing in countries such as Romania or Bulgaria since there are people there that have a lot of education and no jobs to work at. Looking at a average monthly salary of $300, I don't see why large companies havn't considered large scale production in these two countries.

 

Well, it's too bad that the automotive industry is the way it is. In my humble opinion, I think all the manufacturer's are making too many different models.In the old days, we had fullsize, midsize, compact, maybe a convertible and a stationwagon. Now, look at all the different models, fullsize, midsize, compact, subcompat, suv's, two or three different sizes, one or two cross-overs, cars that look lilke trucks, trucks that have 2 doors, four doors, mini vans, maxivans,etc, etc. Get my drift. Must be costing makers fortunes to make all those different body styles.........

'04 CTS 3.6VVT sport/luxury