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Technology Stocks : Discuss Year 2000 Issues -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sawtooth who wrote (3551)	2/1/1999 11:44:00 PM
From: C.K. Houston	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9818

Tim, I'd really like the automotive plants to be compliant (I have several uncles who have worked in Chevy & Ford plants) ... BUT ... what percent of GM's suppliers are U.S. operations? How many are gonna be compliant? Talking about GM'S individual compliance doesn't mean much (though it sounds good) ... IF you have key suppliers who are not compliant. It doesn't take long to shut down a plant, as you recall from this past year's strike. It's that whole "weak link" deal. <GM is currently working with Ford, Chrysler, and approximately 40,000 of its suppliers to make the Y2K deadline.> I don't want to sound negative ... and I applaud any company ahead of the game. But, it's hard for me to believe that last spring GM CIO was using words like "catastrophic" in describing GM plants ... and was most concerned about supply chain .... and now picture is rosey. Here's an excerpt FORTUNE MAGAZINE (April '97) article: Unfounded gloom and doom? Not if you listen to Ralph J. Szygenda, chief information officer at General Motors, whose staff is now feverishly correcting what he calls "catastrophic problems" in every GM plant. In March '97 the automaker disclosed that it expects to spend $400 million to $550 million to fix year 2000 problems in factories as well as engineering labs and offices. [I haven't checked most recent SEC statement, but my guess is this figure has increased.] Or consider the words of Rob Baxter, Honeywell's vice president in charge of making his company's line of industrial control products "year 2000 compliant," to use computer industry jargon. From what he has seen among Honeywell customers, Baxter fears that "some plants will have trouble operating and will have to shut down. Some will run at a reduced scope. I expect considerable system outages during December 1999 through February 2000." pathfinder.com Cheryl