Autoblog

General Motors has been hit so hard by the ongoing American Axle strikes that it's stopped production of the GMC Yukon, Denali, Sierra heavy-duty regular and extended cab, its commercial-duty pickup and variants of Chevrolet trucks and Tahoes. All the while, the General is still negotiating with the UAW over local contracts at some of its most important plants. To ease some of its supply problems, General Motors has reportedly offered as much as $200 million to American Axle for the funding of employee buyouts, early retirements and for the support of wage buy downs. The offer, however, is conditional on a quick resolution between American Axle and the UAW.

Spokesman Dan Flores says that GM hopes "the offer will help bridge the gap between American Axle and the UAW and that they will be able to reach a mutually satisfactory agreement in the near future." Both the UAW and American Axle sound supportive of the investment; Bill Alford Jr., vice president and incoming president at UAW Local 235 says, "We're happy that General Motors is finally coming to the table and realizing that they have a stake in American Axle's future." For GM's sake and that of the striking workers, we hope the feuding companies find an amicable solution soon, though it seems unfortunate that GM, which is not exactly posting record profits itself, should need to cough up funding to make it happen.

[Source: The Detroit Free Press]

General Motors has fallen once again on the Fortune 500 list of America's top-grossers. The General had once stood strong atop the rankings, having fallen from the top spot in 2001 at which time Wal-Mart took over. For the last few years, Exxon-Mobil and the big box retailer have battled for the first two positions on the list with GM claiming third place. This year, soaring demands for energy have allowed Chevron to nudge past GM on its way to a third place finish. General Motors, at number four on the list, is bracketed by another energy company, ConocoPhillips, at number five. Ford finds itself sitting at number seven, the same as last year.

Fortune's 500 list is based on company revenue, not profit. If profit were the main criteria, GM and Ford wouldn't be making any appearances on the list at all. Exxon Mobil would easily claim the top spot as the most profitable company around with GM posting nearly as much in losses over the same period of time.

[Source: Fortune]