Ford to lay off 15,000, GM saves 2700 jobs

Thread view:

Enable EMail Alerts

Start New Thread

Thread rating:

rander3127@gmail.com - 24 Aug 2006 05:50 GMT

The GM plant in Ontario will (instead of being closed) produce the new
Camaro, saving approximately 2700 jobs though they will lose some of
the total number now employed.
Ford's 20% production reduction is likely to mean the layoff (perhaps
permanent) of up to
15,000 employees.

Reply to this Message

Nicholas Anthony - 25 Aug 2006 09:30 GMT

> The GM plant in Ontario will (instead of being closed) produce the new
> Camaro, saving approximately 2700 jobs though they will lose some of
> the total number now employed.
> Ford's 20% production reduction is likely to mean the layoff (perhaps
> permanent) of up to
> 15,000 employees.

GM is legally obligated to use the Canadian plant as they previously had for
the Camaro Firebird.

It is sad to see how poorly Ford's stocks are doing. They actually are a
bargain deal for anyone to buy. I was reading how Ford might go private and
now that the stocks are cheap enough can easily be done.

Reply to this Message

Harry in Montreal - 25 Aug 2006 15:46 GMT

> GM is legally obligated to use the Canadian plant as they previously had for
> the Camaro Firebird.

what? "the" plant north of Montreal which produced the F-body until 02
has been torn down to build a shopping center. the new car is going to
be built in Oshawa Ontario. i think that you are referring to certain
governmental incentives (loans and other) that GM received to build
those crappy cars (i had one). from what i understand, the quebec
government got the short end of the deal. i believe that they produced
those cars all the way up to 02 to satisfy certain obligations, in
absence of them, the car would have been junked years earlier.

> It is sad to see how poorly Ford's stocks are doing. They actually are a
> bargain deal for anyone to buy. I was reading how Ford might go private and
> now that the stocks are cheap enough can easily be done.

its a great stock to buy... (sarcastically) why no go to a casino
instead. or buy a bunch of lottery tickets.

building that camaro in canada is GM's first mistake with it.

from what i understand, GM thought that the last f-body's lack of
success in the US was due to its manufacture outside the country. great
for jobs for us canadians, but i think it is going to be GM's first big
screwup. and the fact that the car would be cheaper if built in mexico.
keep in mind that the camaro has to be the same price (or area) as the
Mustang. the last one was at least 10-20% more expensive. the mustang
is a better car. in the long run, i doubt GM will be able to get the
same success out of their car as ford has done with the mustang - base
on what they did with the 1993 redesign. next, they will announce the
use of their malibu maxx platform for the camaro (ha!). (in refernce to
the trailblazer's platform under the SSR.

harold in montreal

Reply to this Message

Jane - 26 Aug 2006 13:01 GMT

> > GM is legally obligated to use the Canadian plant as they previously had for
> > the Camaro Firebird.
[quoted text clipped - 28 lines]
> use of their malibu maxx platform for the camaro (ha!). (in refernce to
> the trailblazer's platform under the SSR.

Oshawa has the best quality and productivity in North America...not
just out of GM's plants or 'Big Three' plants, but out of ALL
manufacturers! We worked hard for this car and earned it, as well as
the other 4 or 5 models we expect to run on the same line. (It will
obviously not be on the Mailibu Max platform, but is sharing a platform
called 'Zeta' with the future rw drive Impala, Cadillac DTS and Buick
Lucerne.) We also made major concessions last spring. If you have
never seen the Oshawa complex, it is the biggest auto manufacturing
complex in the world, encompassing two car plants and a truck plant
plus stamping and tri-axle facilities. Everything...parts suppliers,
etc...is nearby. GM has been in Oshawa for 98 years; it is nothing
like the situation of the old Ste-Therese plant!

It is a bit of a fallacy that this announcement will 'save' the #2 car
plant. It will still eventually shut down. When the #1 car plant is
retooled, it will expand to cover the plant 2 area as well. GM will be
building these cars with far fewer employees and with some former
employees outsourced. The union has allowed temporary workers and I
think most future new hires will be just that. I think people like me
(with 23 years service) are the last generation of 'traditional'
autoworkers. So it is debatable whether it would be cheaper to produce
in Mexico.

In reading posts by Camaro enthusiasts, most seem to be quite happy to
see it being built at the top quality plant, notwithstanding it being
in Canada .

Jane

> harold in montreal

Reply to this Message