Oh ya, I see the recovery, it's just around the corner ;0(
January 9, 2002
Thousands of Jobs Expected to Be Cut at G.M. and Ford
By DANNY HAKIM
nytimes.com
DETROIT, Jan. 8 — The two largest American automakers are expected to announce the elimination of at least 15,000 jobs this week.
General Motors (news/quote) plans to offer buyouts to about 5,000 white-collar workers as part of continuing belt-tightening in an automotive industry reckoning with recession. Later this week, analysts expect that Ford Motor (news/quote) will cut more than 10,000 jobs as part of a major restructuring plan. Ford officials declined to comment today on reports that as many as 20,000 jobs would be eliminated.
The prospect of cuts has somewhat overshadowed the North American International Auto Show here, where automakers from around the world are displaying new models for this year and concepts for the future.
G.M., the only one of the Big Three automakers that is expected to report a profit for 2001, appeared to be making the cuts less out of necessity than as a preventive measure. The company said today that it would offer buyouts to about 10 percent of its white-collar work force as part of an effort started in 2000 to trim its payroll.
"We can run leaner, and we should run leaner," said Rick Wagoner, the chief executive of G.M., who added that no plant closings were on the horizon for G.M. beyond the closing of a Canadian plant that was announced last year.
"The best companies work at competitiveness every day," he added. "When economics are tough, you've got a little bit of a sharper edge to it."
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Though G.M. shares a number of concerns with the other members of the Big Three, including the weakness of the Japanese yen and the high price of sales incentives, analysts view it as the member of the Big Three with the most momentum. Today, Robert A. Lutz, G.M.'s new vice chairman who oversees products, led reporters on a tour to critique the competition's vehicles with a brashness that G.M. has long studiously avoided.
He even led a tour around the displays of Chrysler, where he served as president in the 90's, and offered his compliments to Dieter Zetsche, Chrysler's chief executive.
"No more sleepy Chrysler," Mr. Lutz said to Mr. Zetsche, adding that he would have preferred if the carmaker, a unit of DaimlerChrysler (news/quote), was still sleepy and less competitive.
Other carmakers expressed surprise that G.M. was able to develop a concept car, the curvy two-seat roadster, the Pontiac Solstice, in the four months that Mr. Lutz has been at the company. |
