Mike Burns..

[SINTZ]

With GM cutting 12,000 jobs in Germany, I'm guessing it will affect the economy pretty bad over there. What's the scoop?

"The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over.
"


~ Hunter S. Thompson

[bbchris]

Sintz!! Mike doesn't have an 's' in his last name.



I didnt know GM was cutting jobs. The US stock has been falling since 2000. I reckon it'll fall more too.. possibly to 25.



Meanwhile back in HOng KOng...

|Blah Blah|Thinking Out Loud|Jane Eliz||Talk Soup | Underground HK |

[RonOnGuitar]

Quote:

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Mike doesn't have an 's' in his last name.

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Maybe Sintz meant it as a question, Chris: like maybe "Is it safe to light up around Mike or is he flammable?".





But automation is increasingly taking over the work done by people, that's inevitable. And if it's also inevitable that petro prices are going to keep moving to increasingly higher prices, larger models of cars (gas hogs)will be less in demand. In the US we first had a big "oil crisis" in the mid 70s - had Americans really pushed for electric or other alt fuel, there would be a big market for more efficient, cleaner & cheaper autos. We had a quarter century to do it, so there's no excuse!

[SINTZ]

Well, whichever, I've come to conclusion that Mike is ignoring me and my question. I was sincerely interested how that would affect his bottom line too since he lives there.



Oh well. Lessons learned and time to move on.

"The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over.
"


~ Hunter S. Thompson

[MIKE BURN]

Tsk.... SINTZ is the man for fast responses! HAHA



I'm not on any 'ignoring tour, I just had minutes in the last days to keep an overview over the boards and still I don't know what I really should answer.



Fact is that General Motors announced that they will cut 12,000 jobs, mainly in two plants (Bochum and Rüsselsheim).

Of course this is a catastrophe for the affected workers and their families and of course the impact is high under the current conditions (i.e. no other car manufacturers where the jobless workers could have any quick future).



On the other hand General Motors created a very bad example how they handled the situation and how they got into it.



GM managers initially did spread their plans through the news instead of informing their own affected employees who simply watched TV and heard Radio. One day later GM still did not address their own employees but started a big full-page advertising campaign in German newspapers where the clients and business partners were addressed... again the destiny of the workers was not worth a single word.



As a result workers in Bochum laid down the work for the 2nd. day now, which impacts all GM/Opel business in Europe because the plant in Bochum creates parts which are needed for all other plants and production lines. Today the European GM CEO Fritz Henderson said "well, then we close the Bochum plant entirely". I just read in German news that the reaction of the workers was to extend the strike until/incl. monday. So they really don't give a damn and wish back the German management. It's a fact that GM ruined the brand "Opel" and were not able to make anything but financial losses since 1999, while all other German car manufacturers under German management created 1999-2002 record profits and simply produced cars the people wanted to buy. What do you expect anyway from a global company calling itself "the world's biggest car manufacturer" which makes more profit with financial services than with creating and selling cars?



That Germany has no real friends within the U.S. business scene because of the German anti-war/anti-Iraq stance is no secret as well. You can make a bet that Germans would rather see GM go entirely than begging for jobs. I think we will see that GM rows back and that there will be a compromise and a delay of lay-offs, however I also see more problems for the brand "Opel" than there were before because even less people will be convinced to buy an "Opel" after this GM stunt and failure of properly communicating in this issue with own employees.

[SINTZ]

Quote:

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GM managers initially did spread their plans through the news instead of informing their own affected employees who simply watched TV and heard Radio.

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Thats typical of U.S. corps. They are afraid of confrontation if they announce it to the employees face. Kind of sucks too. Fact of the matter is, after I was a consultant for 22 years in IT, I figured I would go to work perm with a local company for about the same money. I figured I could start building a retirement and just spend the rest of my career with them.



Well, 3.5 years into it they sold us all to global consulting firm and are in the process of off-shoring everyone to India. Although my company didn't communicate very well, the consulting firm is at least telling us dates of when we will be "cut loose". I suppose all I can do is go back to consulting or open my own business.



Major corps worldwide have seemed to put humans aside and now regard them is assets or liabilities. I guess there is no working to retirement for a company anymore.



I was saddened when I saw the massive GM jobs leaving. It's not new but still seems to be the norm, not only here but everywhere.

"The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over.
"


~ Hunter S. Thompson

[RonOnGuitar]

(EDITED TO ADD: I see Mike beat me to answering! Fast guy, hahaha!)



Sintz, I'm don't think Mike passed by your question intentionally. I'm sure it's just that, like the rest of us, sometimes a person quickly drops in for a few moments and gets back to things a bit later when s/he has more time to catch up.



I don't believe it means anything personal when folks do that - I know that I often miss getting back to a message thread or forget to answer something and there's no intent at all to blow off anyone.

Edited by: RonOnGuitar at: 10/16/04 22:32

[bbchris]

Quote:

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in the process of off-shoring everyone to India

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That's happening in a lot of industries.

|Blah Blah|Thinking Out Loud|Jane Eliz||Talk Soup | Underground HK |

[Stan Arthur]

I try to advise everyone who does IT for a corporation to consider getting a position with a private educational institution like a college. Those jobs will never be outsourced.

Barely Pink

The Vodkanauts



Vote Democrat and have a heart.

Vote Republican and have a brain.

[bbchris]

Good suggestion Stan!! Nice to see you here btw!!

|Blah Blah|Thinking Out Loud|Jane Eliz||Talk Soup | Underground HK |

[rod steel global]

GM is cutting down here in Sweden also,

at SAAB 400-500 jobs

®od

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[looks like a link]

[AQUARIAN AGE]

12000 jobs in Europe, not only Germany. So, same here in Austria.

[MIKE BURN]

Just a follow-up...........



Meanwhile there's a Europe-wide protest going on, with some plants standing entirely still.

Quote:

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GM staffers protest Europe job cuts



Unrest hits output; workers fight plan to slash 12,000 positions, say losses due to mismanagement.





BOCHUM, Germany (Reuters) - Thousands of embittered car workers rallied across Europe against mass job cuts planned by General Motors, the world's biggest auto manufacturer, as labor unrest disrupted output at more GM plants Tuesday.



GM's labor leaders said more than 50,000 staffers at 13 facilities demonstrated against their U.S.-based employer, which aims to cut its European workforce by up to 12,000 employees -- roughly a fifth -- to halt five years of losses in the region.



Blaming GM for management errors that left the company brutally exposed to weak European car sales, workers demanded the company keep all its plants open and refrain from forced layoffs as it slashes its European payrolls.



"Opel management's blockade has been broken," said Dietmar Hahn, head of the Bochum plant's works council.



"We are on the right track and will succeed," he said, deriding GM's drive for drastic savings: "All that the idiots in pinstripes can think of is job cuts."



Protests are underway at other GM plants in Europe.



Workers at GM plants in Britain - where 400 jobs are to be cut - are also expected to suspend operations briefly.



GM has started negotiating with unions over the job cuts.

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