American Axle to close Detroit plant, send jobs to Mexico

[Supersport]

http://wap.clickondetroit.com/detail...50591&rc=ln_ne

[Hamtragedy]

Ouch! $8M Bonus for Dauch apparently not big enough.

[oldredfordette]

That parasitical piece of shit. The swine flu is named after that guy.

[CountrySquire]

Whew hew! Go Dick Go. While your biggest customer receives Billions from the US Tax Payers you toss thousands out of work who will never be able to afford a new GM product again, nor will the people at the Mexican plant who are making $1.60 an hour. Brillance!

[Huggybear]

Wow. Last time I heard, GM was getting billions. How much did suppliers get? Zip to date, right? And wasn't the closing of Detroit Forge announced months ago?

Even assuming that Dauch is an evil man and that people who are running failing businesses should not get paid much, $8 million isn't even close to patching up AAM's financial problems. AAM has been on a bunch of bankruptcy watch lists throughout 2009, and at the end of the day, the real problem is the lack of orders from GM. When your biggest customer loses 40% of its sales, it hurts. And AAM was making a lot of SUV parts, so it may be more than 40% down.

So what would you do with the company? Run it completely aground [[dis-employing 830 people, not 600) just to employ absolutely everyone at the company for a couple more months? Even dumping all of that $8mm into the company wouldn't pay the salaries and the fixed costs of keeping that plant open [[salaries, benefits, electricity, maintenance).

But look at the root cause. GM, long unable to fix its massive structural costs [[corporate debt, labor/benefit charges, etc.) has been putting the hurt on its suppliers to cut parts costs - including by building abroad in non-union factories. Maybe in a couple of weeks, if the UAW owns a big piece of GM [[and is backed by a government friendly to labor), they can force all purchasing to be from union plants in the U.S. I suspect, though, that the UAW will be just as brutal as any GM bean-counter - since the UAW has pensions to protect. Look for it to protect existing jobholders and pensioners and to cut everyone else's throat.

Of course, if GM goes into bankruptcy, all of this will be an academic question. AAM could lose some or all of its business with GM, or AAM's invoices could be cut, or AAM itself could end up in Chapter 7.

So before we get all crazy, someone please present the alternative scenario where this plant stays open.

[Novine]

Here's a thought Huggybear, when the people at the top aren't rewarding themselves with obscene salaries and bonuses at the expense of the people working on the line, they may find those workers more willing to accept more modest wages and benefits and be more productive. People complain about the demands of the UAW and the work habits of union workers. But when the average person sees how the people at the top act, I can see why people feel like they should demand as much as possible for as little work as possible.

[spiritofdetroit]

what the hell do you expect to happen when your business drops by 80% in a year? or when your main client is near bankruptcy, and has cut production by massive amounts? Of course there are going to be layoffs and closures. I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner.

[Danny]

Thanks a lot George Bush! for your rediculous global tradie policies. You have made America market a joke to us all!

[Detroitnerd]

That's going to hurt Hamtramck. I think that city gets a fair amount of revenue from that plant, and I doubt it can be replaced.

[jfk]

Thanks a lot George Bush! for your rediculous global tradie policies. You have made America market a joke to us all!

Sorry danny, but you have to go a little further back to this guy

http://encarta.msn.com/media_4615195...gns_nafta.html

[irish_mafia]

Obama continues the devastation of American manufacturing

[Hypestyles]

terrible news, especially for employees.. bizarre..

so what's going to be done with the factory grounds once it shuts down for good? another ghost factory left to sit for 20+ years?

[rjk]

That's going to hurt Hamtramck. I think that city gets a fair amount of revenue from that plant, and I doubt it can be replaced.

Around 2 million from AAM. This according to a newspaper article from a few months ago. 4 million from the GM plant.

[Cincinnati_Kid]

Obama continues the devastation of American manufacturing

Are you some kind of idiot?? This isn't Obama's fault. Bush dropped this in his lap, before he left. Obama is doing what Bush should have done 8 yrs running. Bush took care of Wall Street, and only Wall Street. At least Obama has the b-lls to put these GREEDY executives in their place. Should have happened WAY before now. CEO's getting big bonuses for running companies in the ground. Yeah right.

[Angry Dad]

Don't blame Bush or Obama. put the blame where it really belongs, both parties. Demolicans and Republicrats are interchangeable. Both ignored what other nations were doing to us [[not for us) in trade and currency manipulation. Both parties tell us about the evils of protectionism while they both spend money they borrow from off shore.

Business isn't broken, unions aren't to blame. Washington is. The more they screw up, the more secure "their" job gets.

[Detroitej72]

Around 2 million from AAM. This according to a newspaper article from a few months ago. 4 million from the GM plant.

Yes, its Hamtramck's 2nd largest taxpayer, behind.... GM's Poletown Plant. Number 3 is the Dickerson Jail on Denten.

I fear us in Hamtown will be cursed with more cuts in the near future, unless we get some of those stimulas dollars.

[wash_man]

"Sorry danny, but you have to go a little further back to this guy"

Sorry, jfk, you have to go a little further back [[Reagan & Bush I).

http://useconomy.about.com/od/tradep...TA_History.htm

[Sstashmoo]

Quote: "This isn't Obama's fault."

It may not be his fault and it really doesn't matter. Question is: What is he doing about it? He's the one that holds the position and drawing the paycheck for it. He can only use that "I'm the new guy" excuse for so long. As big as a joke as Bush was and the heat he took for his response to Katrina, IT was still about 20 times faster than Obama's attack on the trade situation.

The scariest thing about the trade situation is the lethargy and flippancy being displayed by the masses. They don't realize how serious it is. Some of the damages being done there is no repair for, like our enormous loss of intellectual property. That is a producing country's REAL worth.

[Bobl]

jfk, and others:
"...Sorry danny, but you have to go a little further back to this guy..."

I would look back to the Nixon / Pepsi deal with China.
This assault on the American worker was planned long ago, and acquiesced to by both parties.
Ross Perot has been proven correct in his warnings about NAFTA.

[CountrySquire]

Let's not forget self serving shithead decisions by Ford and GM to spinoff these companies as stand alones in the 90s on the blame sheets.

[Det_ard]

I guess this is a good example of how workers can shoot themselves in the foot when they fail to acknowledge reality.

In 2008 the UAW workers at AAM went on strike to fight against AAM's efforts to transition from GM type pay and benefits [[$70/hr "all-in") to supplier pay and benefits [[$20- $30/hr "all-in"). The strike shut AAM down. This rippled through to GM, forcing them to shut their truck and SUV plants and costing both companies millions of dollars.

Now in the midst of a deep recession and a near-death auto industry environment we see an almost bankrupt auto supplier look for lower cost and less militant labor. Some observers express shock and anger over this. Some trot out timeworn anti-business and classist cliches. It's just so very southeast Michigan. Meanwhile the real world passes us by as we seemingly try our best to remain mired in 1971.

[stinkbug]

I guess this is a good example of how workers can shoot themselves in the foot when they fail to acknowledge reality.

In 2008 the UAW workers at AAM went on strike to fight against AAM's efforts to transition from GM type pay and benefits [[$70/hr "all-in") to supplier pay and benefits [[$20- $30/hr "all-in"). The strike shut AAM down. This rippled through to GM, forcing them to shut their truck and SUV plants and costing both companies millions of dollars.

Now in the midst of a deep recession and a near-death auto industry environment we see an almost bankrupt auto supplier look for lower cost and less militant labor. Some observers express shock and anger over this. Some trot out timeworn anti-business and classist cliches. It's just so very southeast Michigan. Meanwhile the real world passes us by as we seemingly try our best to remain mired in 1971.

Are you really suggesting that strike had anything to do with the situation we are in today?

So just how are American workers supposed to compete with people making $1.30 an hour? I guess demanding more than that is just too "militant".

[Det_ard]

Most companies take labor costs and labor stability into account when making sourcing decisions. That may favor offshoring. On the other hand, worker education levels, initiative, creativity, flexibility, logistics costs, availability of highly skilled workers may be factors favoring US workers. Many companies find that sourcing in the US is a good business decision.

Strikes and other measures of resistance to accepting wages that are comparable to the company's competition certainly don't help when a company has to figure out how to run the business at a profit.

[Supersport]

Perhaps this is an opportunity to expand the communist movement. First GM, and now perhaps the feds can move on the struggling suppliers. Why not? The federal government doesn't operate on a balanced budget, so they should be the most qualified to right the financials of companies, right?

[detmich]

Has anyone read this story. AAM is not closing US plants, ONLY its DETROIT plant. Why?well, forget the strike, NO ONE COMES TO WORK. THE WORKFORCE IN DETROIT IS LAZY AND UNRELIABLE. Please, read the story. The other US factories are thriving, because PEOPLE COME TO WORK EVERY DAY UNLIKE IN DETROIT.

Get your heads out of the sand and start living life in the real world, especially you ORF.

As a side point, you can't open a nice grocery store or retail business either if you can't rely on your employees to show up. Just a thought as to another reason Detroit is missing amenities that are taken for granted elsewhere.