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GM cutting more white-collar jobs and employee benefits
Back in July, General Motors announced its plan to reduce salary spending by 20% and its white-collar workforce by 15% or 5,100 jobs. Those workers are out of a job on November 1st, but a new round of job cuts means even more empty cubicles for the world's largest automaker. The Detroit News is reporting that GM plans to lay off more white-collar workers despite having already reached its goal of reducing the company's salaried workforce by 5,100 jobs. While a specific number of how many more jobs would be cut wasn't given, a letter sent to GM execs confirms that more pink slips will be handed out by the end of this year and into early 2009. To further reduce spending, GM is also canceling certain employee benefits including its 401k matching program, tuition reimbursement and adoption assistance programs. All of these spending cuts are meant to help GM weather the storm until the auto industry bounces back from its own recession. We're sure that's little consolation to the men and women who are out of a job in the mean time, but with fewer and fewer people buying new cars and trucks, GM has little choice.
[Source: The Detroit News]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
BigMcLargeHuge 5:36PM (10/23/2008)
Just so long as the incompetent management stays intact! Thats the real gem of GM.
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Gabagool 7:09PM (10/23/2008)
How dare you question management!!!!!!!
They are doing a great job, why rick wagoner makes only a million a year for every billion GM lost in N America.
GM lost 16 plus Bil, his salary is almost 17 million dollars a year (which is more than 9 top Toyota executives combined)
AMcA 9:21PM (10/23/2008)
This says to me, for the first time ever, that GM is changing. Nothing's sacred. They're not trying to hang onto benefits like Adoption Assistance to maintain a sense of normalcy.
Carlos 5:39PM (10/23/2008)
They could stop paying their board members so much and I'm pretty sure that would solve the problem.
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Luke 6:14PM (10/23/2008)
Why does an industrial company even have white collar jobs it can cut in the first place? It isn't like closing a plant and laying off workers if you decide to downsize. If you can run your company without them, these are just extra people leeching off your profits.
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Judy Zik 8:25PM (10/23/2008)
Sounds good except companies need things like administration, sales, marketing and HR to do the paperwork and keep things running. On top of that Car Companies need an army of designers and engineers to continually update what they have and create new products. Then there is an army of folks testing and evaluating designs. Add in customer service and warranty. The reality is all the little leeches have jobs and eliminating them isn't that easy and can have an effect on their product in the long run.
shuref00t 11:49PM (10/23/2008)
"Why does an industrial company even have white collar jobs it can cut in the first place?"
Same reason why labor unions need administrative staffing as well, because the folks in charge are too busy being corrupt to even count all the money they're extorting from the company and their workers.
Early Apex 5:58PM (10/23/2008)
Hey, c'mon guys, GM has really turned things around, and you've got to credit top management for that. With the new CTS-V, GM now has TWO cars that I would consider buying (but won't). That means that almost 4% of their entire lineup is competitive!
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Gabagool 7:11PM (10/23/2008)
"Hey, c'mon guys, GM has really turned things around"-----------Apex i am going to ask you a serious question, do you own a TV? Do you follow news? If i'll tell you that GM is close to filing for bankruptcy will you be surprised at all?
Dunda 12:14PM (10/27/2008)
@Gabagool
Whooosh!
Early Apex 11:05AM (10/24/2008)
Nothing gets past you, does it slick?
Let me rephrase for the sarcasm-impaired:
"GM cars are not competitive and top management has done a terrible job."
whofan 6:32PM (10/23/2008)
Rick Wagoner could leed by example and cut a good chunk out of the 15 million he makes yearly.
I don`t believe GMs current problems are all Ricks fault. Big plunders and lack of vision were made years ago when GM was still healthy. Roger Smith blew billions of GM money.
Right now GM needs to focus on GM and forget Chrysler. Cerberus should sit tight or sell Chrysler whole so it can continue on, to somebody who isn`t going to strip it.
If GM ruins Chrysler? I`ll be a Ford man from then on!
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Gabagool 7:16PM (10/23/2008)
OK Wagoner became the CEO in June of 2008, before that he was a CFO,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Wagoner
We are almost in 2009, under Ricks DIRECT control GM had two generations of cars, all cars on the road are of his making, all of them. In fact Wagoner was DIRECTLY responsible for Pontiac Aztek, he was the one who insisted on the looks and after it blew up he was forced to hire Lutz.
Smith is long gone, this whole mess is of Wagoners making and as i said he was a CFO prior to becoming a CEO, which is only the second or third most powerful position in the company. Whatever he inherited.....he contributed to that himself.
That One Person 12:08PM (10/25/2008)
Hey Gab. What about Rick pretty much saving GM after Roger Smith decided to drive GM into a brick wall? If he can do it once, I am sure he can do it again.
Oh and Rick has been CEO since 2000. He could have had GM turned around by now but you have to remember when he was put in charge, he was in charge of a company that was still producing lackluster products.
Todd 6:36PM (10/23/2008)
Well they have to make $$ to buy Chrysler somehow.
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Gardiner Westbound 6:43PM (10/23/2008)
The beatings will continue until morale improves.
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Tony 7:49PM (10/23/2008)
"GM has little choice"
Right. Have them give me a call. I have lots of options for them to choose from.
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Sherry 10:20PM (10/23/2008)
I feel very bad for the families affected by these closings. Seems American's are losing jobs and homes at an alarming rate. I wonder when we will wake up and smell the coffee and work toward becoming a energy independent country. What short attention spans we have. When gas is scarce we conserve and look to produce, buy and drive energy effecient cars. When the oil is flowing cheap we forget, we have been there before. I am reading a newly released book by Jeff Wilson called the Manhattan Project of 2009. It should be a required read for all members of our government.www.themanhattanprojectof2009.com
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chuckles 5:26AM (10/24/2008)
Thanks. We all appreciate your degree in economics. Especially your take on fossil fuel consumption, but just s#$u for a bit and then be quiet. There is no automaker in the world that doesn't understand what's going on with world markets. Sit back and listen.
Kookr 11:58PM (10/23/2008)
Yup, they gave the official cut notice yesterday. :(
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