GM offers buyouts to 18,000 salaried workers, says layoffs possible

[313WX]

"General Motors is offering voluntary buyouts to salaried workers in North America, acknowledging Wednesday that if it does not get enough takers, it may consider layoffs early next year.

Shortly after reporting better-than-expected third-quarter earnings, CEO Mary Barra sent an email to all 50,000 salaried GM employees in North America at about 8:30 a.m."
https://www.freep.com/story/money/ca...rs/1831530002/

[Cincinnati_Kid]

The industry is experiencing a downturn, as sales have dropped for the Big 3. Probably related to Trump's tariffs. Knew it would happen eventually, "What goes up, must come down"

[Worldsgreatest]

The industry is experiencing a downturn, as sales have dropped for the Big 3. Probably related to Trump's tariffs. Knew it would happen eventually, "What goes up, must come down"

Earnings were over 40% higher than analysts estimated. Far from a "downturn".

[aj3647]

Earnings were over 40% higher than analysts estimated. Far from a "downturn".

That earnings beat estimates mean nothing if the estimate expectations are low, now does it?

https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/c...motors/revenue

• General Motors revenue for the twelve months ending June 30, 2018 was $144.197B, a 3.08% decline year-over-year.

[hybridy]

That earnings beat estimates mean nothing if the estimate expectations are low, now does it?

https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/c...motors/revenue

• General Motors revenue for the twelve months ending June 30, 2018 was $144.197B, a 3.08% decline year-over-year.

never underestimate the power of denial, but things are slowing

U.S. GDP growth will rise to 3.1 percent in 2018, 2.5 percent in 2019, and 2.0 percent in 2020. That's according to the most recent forecast released at the Federal Open Market Committee meeting on September 26, 2018. This estimate takes into account Trump's economic policies.

The unemployment rate will drop to 3.7 percent in 2018, and 3.5 percent in 2019 and 2020. That's lower than the Fed's 6.7 percent target. But former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen admitted a lot of workers are part-time and would prefer full-time work. Also, most job growth is in low-paying retail and food service industries. Some people have been out of work for so long that they'll never be able to return to the high-paying jobs they used to have. Structural unemployment has increased. These traits are unique to this recovery.

Yellen admitted that the real unemployment rate is more accurate. It's double the widely-reported rate.

[Worldsgreatest]

These are revenues coming off of the highest record profits in half a century, slight declines are not indicative of serious "downturns" that's just Detroityes alarmist rhetoric, none of you can predict when such things will happen/hit so you can talk about it till you're blue in the face it doesn't matter. And where do you get the idea that these are "low" standards? If revenues are still up dramatically from predictions that means things are going much better than planned. GM is restructuring workers for future projects/needs, ford did the same thing, end of story.

[Cincinnati_Kid]

Earnings were over 40% higher than analysts estimated. Far from a "downturn".

I saw a auto analyst on the news say that earnings are down, and profit sharing checks for employees are going to be a lot smaller next year. "Don't Shoot The Messenger"

[Dbest]

The industry is experiencing a downturn, as sales have dropped for the Big 3. Probably related to Trump's tariffs. Knew it would happen eventually, "What goes up, must come down"

It was "Trump's" economy that continued to drive auto sales further delaying the inevitable downturn. They knew this was coming.

Let me guess: In your world everything is Trumps fault? How original!

[sirrealone]

Many people will probably gladly take it as I'm sure they'll have no problems finding another job. Unfortunately, as history shows, a lot of those jobs will likely be in another state.

To me this is a signal that the current uptrend in Michigan's economic cycle has peaked.

[bibs]

I was laid off from OnStar in 2009. I ended up 10 hours away in St Louis. I figured at the time it would take 10 years for the auto industry to come back. We also didn't want to live in a area dominated by one industry. The economy in St Louis is diversified. I'm so glad I made the move because my future is no longer tied to the whims of the auto industry which is changing rapidly.

[Worldsgreatest]

I was laid off from OnStar in 2009. I ended up 10 hours away in St Louis. I figured at the time it would take 10 years for the auto industry to come back. We also didn't want to live in a area dominated by one industry. The economy in St Louis is diversified. I'm so glad I made the move because my future is no longer tied to the whims of the auto industry which is changing rapidly.

Yeah, you just have to worry about all the corporations in STL leaving for Chicago's siren song.

Is this comment satire?

[Bham1982]

Yeah, you just have to worry about all the corporations in STL leaving for Chicago's siren song.

Is this comment satire?

StL has stronger economic and population growth than Chicago [[so does Detroit, for that matter), and is further from Chicago than Detroit is from Chicago, so none of this makes any sense.

Chicago is the only major U.S. metro with population loss in recent years and has the slowest home price appreciation of any major metro. It's a behemoth, but stagnant.

[Honky Tonk]

It's all because of those scooters.

[Bham1982]

I REALLY hope the people with middle class salaries I see buying boats, 60k cars and 10k cruises are socking lots of money away.

The next recession is gonna be a doozy. It's like everyone in the industry forgot what happened 10 years ago. Unless you're a doctor or in some recession-proof occupation you're an idiot if you aren't putting money away for bad times.

[Worldsgreatest]

I REALLY hope the people with middle class salaries I see buying boats, 60k cars and 10k cruises are socking lots of money away.

The next recession is gonna be a doozy. It's like everyone in the industry forgot what happened 10 years ago. Unless you're a doctor or in some recession-proof occupation you're an idiot if you aren't putting money away for bad times.

I'm sure the thought of recession gets you all excited in your panties but these buyouts having nothing to do with it. Nobody starts firing preemptively over the thought of a coming recession, that makes zero business sense. GM is putting resources aside and transitioning work for automated cars and electric vehicles, also likely an acquisition.

[Bham1982]

I'm sure the thought of recession gets you all excited in your panties but these buyouts having nothing to do with it. Nobody starts firing preemptively over the thought of a coming recession, that makes zero business sense. GM is putting resources aside and transitioning work for automated cars and electric vehicles, also likely an acquisition.

Nothing you wrote makes any sense. Buyouts have nothing to do with projected profitability? Layoffs have nothing to do with economic downturns? All absurd nonsense.

Are you a GM employee/retiree or just a shareholder/cheerleader? Back here in the real world, the Big 3 face declining earnings and retrenchment.

[Worldsgreatest]

Nothing you wrote makes any sense. Buyouts have nothing to do with projected profitability? Layoffs have nothing to do with economic downturns? All absurd nonsense.

Are you a GM employee/retiree or just a shareholder/cheerleader? Back here in the real world, the Big 3 face declining earnings and retrenchment.

Those things are not at all what I said, re-read and come back with an intelligible response and maybe I'll reply.

[Bham1982]

Those things are not at all what I said, re-read and come back with an intelligible response and maybe I'll replay.

No, that's exactly what you wrote.

And spare us your threats of more nonsensical replies.

[Johnnny5]

I'm sure the thought of recession gets you all excited in your panties but these buyouts having nothing to do with it. Nobody starts firing preemptively over the thought of a coming recession, that makes zero business sense. GM is putting resources aside and transitioning work for automated cars and electric vehicles, also likely an acquisition.

I have to disagree.

With rising rates, growing trade wars, increased vehicle longevity, an aging U.S population and a younger generation with less interest in autos, a slowdown in the auto sector is all but inevitable. And from what I am seeing it appears as if G.M and Ford are both preemptively downsizing in anticipation of such. Yes, they may be pushing resources into development of new technologies, but if they were not expecting a major slowdown they would simply do both [[Expand advanced development and maintain their current operations).

We may not be headed for a full blown recession, but the automotive sector is likely to feel it more than most as we've been riding higher than most since the Great Recession. It's probably a good thing that they appear to be making cuts gradually this time instead of being totally caught off guard as they were prior to the Great Recession. [[Ford not totally, as they did manage to acquire massive lines of credit just before the last slow down and credit crunch).

[Worldsgreatest]

I have to disagree.With rising rates, growing trade wars, increased vehicle longevity, an aging U.S population and a younger generation with less interest in autos, a slowdown in the auto sector is all but inevitable. And from what I am seeing it appears as if G.M and Ford are both preemptively downsizing in anticipation of such. Yes, they may be pushing resources into development of new technologies, but if they were not expecting a major slowdown they would simply do both [[Expand advanced development and maintain their current operations).

No company in the world forfeits production and earnings over the speculative feelings of a recession, that's not how cost curves work and never will, any company making such insane strategy moves would be out of business. All this happens when a recession is happening and in progress, we are not in a recession so that's not a good explanation for these buyouts.

[archfan]

No company in the world forfeits production and earnings over the speculative feelings of a recession, that's not how cost curves work and never will, any company making such insane strategy moves would be out of business. All this happens when a recession is happening and in progress, we are not in a recession so that's not a good explanation for these buyouts.

Notice they're reducing numbers of people working on future products, not the people building the product they're selling now.

Your thinking is what the auto companies thought in the past as well. And by the time they realized they were in a recession, they were in deep and had to cut hard.

If GM and Ford are downsizing now ahead of the coming downturn, that's good news for everyone except the folks getting involuntary packages. That means they finally learned from 2008. And 2001. And 1990...

[Pat001]

Even a generous voluntary separation package isn't like winning the lottery - you get pay and benefits for a few months, and that will go by quickly. Few if any of those affected GM salaried employees in their 40s-50s are in a position to retire. They have mortgages, car payments and other expenses, a kid or two in college, plus the prospect of elderly parents to care for. And if they don’t take the “voluntary” package we all know what comes next...

[313WX]

An interesting fact someone mentioned yesterday:

The first term of every presidency since Teddy Roosevelt has featured a recession.

It'll be interesting to see if we break that trend with Trump. An argument can be made both for and against it.

[aj3647]

An interesting fact someone mentioned yesterday:

The first term of every presidency since Teddy Roosevelt has featured a recession.

It'll be interesting to see if we break that trend with Trump. An argument can be made both for and against it.

Republicans are artificially inflating the economy with massive deficit spending. Government is supposed to run up a large deficit when the economy is BAD, the logic being that government spending will spur economic growth. When the economy is good, we're supposed to have small deficits because there is no need for the government to spend like a drunken sailor to keep the economy going. Instead, at a time of strong economic performance, we've run up two consecutive years of massive deficit growth and next year's deficit is projected to hit almost a trillion dollars.

We have deficits now that we weren't seeing since years of the Great Recession. To compare, the last time the economy was as good as it is now [[1999/2000 under Bill Clinton), we had a freaking budget SURPLUS. Trump is keeping those economic numbers high by pumping hundreds of billions of dollars of borrowed Chinese money into the economy rather than let the economy grow itself at a more modest [[but more organic) pace. It's a house of cards and it will come crashing down, we absolutely cannot sustain a new normal of >$1 trillion deficits every year, which is what the CBO is projecting starting in 2020.

[Cincinnati_Kid]

Republicans are artificially inflating the economy with massive deficit spending. Government is supposed to run up a large deficit when the economy is BAD, the logic being that government spending will spur economic growth. When the economy is good, we're supposed to have small deficits because there is no need for the government to spend like a drunken sailor to keep the economy going. Instead, at a time of strong economic performance, we've run up two consecutive years of massive deficit growth and next year's deficit is projected to hit almost a trillion dollars.

We have deficits now that we weren't seeing since years of the Great Recession. To compare, the last time the economy was as good as it is now [[1999/2000 under Bill Clinton), we had a freaking budget SURPLUS. Trump is keeping those economic numbers high by pumping hundreds of billions of dollars of borrowed Chinese money into the economy rather than let the economy grow itself at a more modest [[but more organic) pace. It's a house of cards and it will come crashing down, we absolutely cannot sustain a new normal of >$1 trillion deficits every year, which is what the CBO is projecting starting in 2020.

And people bitched and moaned about Obama driving up the deficit. PLEASE !! What Trump is doing pales big time in comparison. He's going to have everyone's present and future grandkids, paying dearly for his tactics, when they are adults.