article: GM slashing 30,000 jobs, closing plants

[wannabeH3]

thats a bummer.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10138507/

[wannabeH3]

thats a bummer.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10138507/

[Mike E]

That is a bummer. GM is actually making some very high quality cars these days. It's to bad that this is happening to them.

[fourfourto]

That sucks AT&T let my wife go after 19 years 10 months. downsizing and cheap out of the country labor. BUY AMERICAN...BUY A HUMMER.
I did notice the cubby console box was made in mexico also look above brake and gas peddles lots of stuff marked made in china.Whats with that ? Cherry car co in china making knock offs of GM cars.

[HummerJim]

I would have to agree that GM is turning out some really good vehicles now (I've always been a car nut), but a lot of people still remember things like the GM Cadillac Diesel of 1981 - don't laugh, I had one and it spent as much time in the dealer as in the garage, before that, I loved my 1978 Cutlass until it threw a pushrod through the valve cover (literally sticking out 3 inches ) those were the bad years for GM and older people tend to remember - the '65 Vette on the other hand never missed a beat and believe it or not is one of the most reliable and easy to fix cars I ever owned, and the H3 sets a new standard for quality control and mechanical perfection for a new model - I love mine. Then there was my 1969 Boss 429 factory NASCAR engined Mustang (fastest car I ever owned, but it rode like a tank, leaked water through the windshield, and went through heater cores every winter) it spent a lot of time at the dealer getting fixed - I wish I had that one back. My last year as a bachelor, a Boss 429 Mustang and my 65 Vette, I was in heaven, and both purchased for under $5,000. New generation, times change, new attitudes -- my father, long deceased, flew in WWII and used to cuss and sometimes use a hand gesture, everytime he saw a VW or Japanese car, if it didn't say GM or body by Fisher, he wouldn't buy it.

[f5fstop]

Part of business in this day-and-age. GM has lost market share, and will never gain back what they had. Therefore, they need to shut down plants, and reduce the work force.
I will say it is not totally the unions fault, but I will say they have to take some credit for the fall of GM.
GM needs to design more attractive cars, and they are doing a good job of that. They need to build quality cars, and they are definitely doing that. But the unions have to wake up and see that there is over production at GM and they have to get those plants closed.
What always amazed me was if you drive into the Spring Hill Manufacturing facility it Spring Hill TN, and went to the plant parking lot, I would bet 30 percent of the cars were Toyotas, Hondas, BMWs, Lexus, etc. These are union people.
I found over my years down there that it appeared that a higher percentage of salary employees were likely to purchase a GM vehicle new, versus union workers who seemed to purchase a lot of competitors vehicles.
To be honest, I have owned Jeeps, but in my defense, every Jeep Wrangler I owned, I purchased used from a GM or Saturn Dealers. And, Jeeps are made by the union workers in Toledo; whereas, the Hondas, Toyotas, etc., that were made in the USA, were most likely made in a non-union shop.

[HummerJim]

You're right fstop! The unions aren't totally to blame in this by a long shot but share some of it - I personally would split it between purchasers, penny pushers, and design decision teams too, but it's getting impossible to compete with companies that don't offer health insurance and pensions to retirees. The cost of business just isn't level here, the airlines have seen this for decades, and I firmly believe that comapany pensions and health benefits are fast becoming a thing of the past. People purchase Toyotas, Jet Blue tickets, foreign sweat shop clothes,etc. and is it any surprise that you can't make it with benefits for retirees anymore when these companies pay none? If GM had no pensions or health insurance, they probably would have made a profit. After I retired from the Air Force I had a small manufacturing business for a few years but the health insurance and tax costs ate me alive. GM is building a much better product than ever before and the H3 is my first GM product since my 1978 Cutlass. When it comes to styling and V8 design, GM has always led the way - Harley Earl, Zora Duntov, Larry Shinoda, Bill Mitchell, GTO John DeLorean the list is endless. OK I'll get off my soapbox. I have a neighbor that loves his Pontiac G6 - their products are good. In the old days you couldn't wait till the new models came out, because they changed a lot and were distinctive, now they all look the same - maybe that's why I bought the H3 it doesn't look like everything else on the road - it's a styling as well as a capability statement. But this Pontiac is my favorite design, next to the old Buick Roadmasters of the 50s ahhh(Jay Leno's favorites too), 57 Chevies, 66 GTOs, oh yes, that '59 Caddie fin - rolling pieces of art in my opinon, but they drove like heck compared to the most crude of today's cars.