Monday, April 20, 2009

Stimulus Update: GM Will Cut 1,600 Jobs


A short while ago, Americans were being told that the need to get the bail out money and the stimulus money approved and into the hands of these companies was critical to stemming the hemorrhaging, the financial meltdown, and loss of jobs in this country. These billions of dollars were necessary to jump-start the economy, create jobs, and put Americans back to work.

So, today's announcement to cut approximately 1,600 GM employees from the rolls before the week ends is devastating news. These cuts, by America's leading car manufacturing company, will target white collar, salaried employees, but will also impact the rank-and-file workers as well.

"'This will be a very trying time for the entire GM team, especially for the employees impacted by this action,'" said the email from Troy Clarke, president of GM North America.

Clarke's email told employees that 1,600 of those cuts would take place Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week".


President Barack Obama, viewed widely as the defacto CEO of GM after he fired Rick Wagoner, the former chairman and CEO the latter part of March, may take a major hit on this one and be forced to expend any political capital he has left as these cuts and expected Union concessions roll out.

In an email to its membership, the United Auto Workers' leadership urged union workers, their family members and supporters to contact the White House and "insist that workers and retirees must be treated in a fair and equitable manner in any restructuring plans."

"We need President Obama and his auto task force to stand up for the interests of workers and retirees in these restructuring negotiations," the e-mail said. "Please call or e-mail President Obama right away on this critically important issue."


How to square this circle is going to take some doing. Laid off workers will surely want to know: "if the bail out/stimulus money is not keeping the little man, the regular workers on the job... where is all the money going"?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

This is why I've been against TARP, bailouts, stimulus spending, etc. This all is a waste of good taxpayers money. If a business can't survive then let it go out of business like the small companies. Too big to fail is a joke. If companies are too big to fail then they should be taken over completely by the government and sold off piece by piece rather than rewarding the bad managers by bailing them out and allowing them to stay in business.