General Motors reported a loss of $722 million for Q4, which works out to $1.28 per share. In the fourth quarter of 2006, the company reported a profit of $950 million, or $1.68 a share. The company blamed the big swing on losses at GMAC, the finance arm of GM, and a general slowdown in vehicle sales.
Be careful of reading too much into this loss. Excluding one-time items, GM reported a profit of $46 million, or 8 cents per share, on revenue of $47.1 billion. Revenue for auto sales was $46.7 billion, which is $3 billion more than Q4 last year.
GM also announced that it will offer a buyout of all U.S. UAW members. The buyout offer goes as high as $140,000 for those with the most experience and highest salaries, but comes with the high price tag of having to give up future health care and other retirement benefits. GMs goals it to get more highly paid workers to leave so that they can hire replacements who will make approximately half as much due to the new collective bargaining agreement allowing a two-tier wage system.
Showing posts with label GM. Show all posts
Showing posts with label GM. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Monday, October 08, 2007
UAW SETS WEDNESDAY STRIKE DEADLINE FOR CHRYSLER
From The New York Times:
The United Automobile Workers union has set an 11 a.m. Wednesday deadline in its bid to reach a new four-year contract with Chrysler, a Chrysler spokeswoman said this morning.
The deadline appeared to be an effort to keep the talks from dragging on for days as they did at General Motors last month, where the contract covering 73,000 workers expired on Sept. 14. After talking for nine days, the union walked out for two days before reaching a deal on Sept. 26.
People with direct knowledge of the negotiations said Sunday night that a deadline had been set, and the deadline was confirmed today by Michele Tinson, a Chrysler spokeswoman.
If the deadline passes without a deal, the union could strike the company, or it could extend its contract hour to hour, as it initially did at G.M., one person with direct knowledge of the talks said today. The U.A.W. could also set aside the talks with Chrysler and seek a deal first with the Ford Motor Company, said this person, who spoke on anonymity because the discussions are private.
The union and Chrysler officials intensified their talks on Friday and continued through the weekend. Discussions recessed late Sunday and resumed this morning.
The United Automobile Workers union has set an 11 a.m. Wednesday deadline in its bid to reach a new four-year contract with Chrysler, a Chrysler spokeswoman said this morning.
The deadline appeared to be an effort to keep the talks from dragging on for days as they did at General Motors last month, where the contract covering 73,000 workers expired on Sept. 14. After talking for nine days, the union walked out for two days before reaching a deal on Sept. 26.
People with direct knowledge of the negotiations said Sunday night that a deadline had been set, and the deadline was confirmed today by Michele Tinson, a Chrysler spokeswoman.
If the deadline passes without a deal, the union could strike the company, or it could extend its contract hour to hour, as it initially did at G.M., one person with direct knowledge of the talks said today. The U.A.W. could also set aside the talks with Chrysler and seek a deal first with the Ford Motor Company, said this person, who spoke on anonymity because the discussions are private.
The union and Chrysler officials intensified their talks on Friday and continued through the weekend. Discussions recessed late Sunday and resumed this morning.
Saturday, October 06, 2007
GM & UAW TO CREATE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR HEALTH CARE REFORM
From The New York Times:
For years, General Motors has said it supports the United Automobile Workers union in its push for change in the nation’s health care system. Now the U.A.W. has persuaded G.M. to put its money where its mouth is.
In a labor agreement reached last week between the company and the union, G.M. has agreed to spend up to $15 million over the next few years to create a National Institute for Health Care Reform.
The institute, run by G.M. and the U.A.W., would engage economists, analysts, academics and other experts, who would conduct studies on the current health care system as well as alternatives. It would look at ways to lower drug costs and would sponsor forums on health care changes.
A G.M. spokeswoman, Michelle Bunker, said the company had not specifically called for a single-payer health care plan, in which a government program would be created to offer health care benefits.
But she said G.M. “believes that all Americans should have access to insurance, and we are working with key players to make sure that everyone has high-quality care at low cost.”
Although G.M. is making the initial investment, Ford Motor and Chrysler also would make proportional contributions, if they agree to similar terms in their new contracts with the U.A.W., according to the contract language.
The U.A.W. has supported national health care for generations. It was a primary focus for Walter P. Reuther, one of the union’s founders. He began arguing in favor of universal health care after World War II, and was one of the forces behind the creation of Medicare for older Americans.
Mr. Reuther’s successor, Leonard Woodcock, urged American businesses in 1970 to support a national health care plan as a way to fight raging health care inflation.
In the absence of a national system, the union instead secured generous health care benefits for its members and retirees, which have since added up to a $55 billion liability for G.M. and a nearly $100 billion liability for the industry over all.
For years, General Motors has said it supports the United Automobile Workers union in its push for change in the nation’s health care system. Now the U.A.W. has persuaded G.M. to put its money where its mouth is.
In a labor agreement reached last week between the company and the union, G.M. has agreed to spend up to $15 million over the next few years to create a National Institute for Health Care Reform.
The institute, run by G.M. and the U.A.W., would engage economists, analysts, academics and other experts, who would conduct studies on the current health care system as well as alternatives. It would look at ways to lower drug costs and would sponsor forums on health care changes.
A G.M. spokeswoman, Michelle Bunker, said the company had not specifically called for a single-payer health care plan, in which a government program would be created to offer health care benefits.
But she said G.M. “believes that all Americans should have access to insurance, and we are working with key players to make sure that everyone has high-quality care at low cost.”
Although G.M. is making the initial investment, Ford Motor and Chrysler also would make proportional contributions, if they agree to similar terms in their new contracts with the U.A.W., according to the contract language.
The U.A.W. has supported national health care for generations. It was a primary focus for Walter P. Reuther, one of the union’s founders. He began arguing in favor of universal health care after World War II, and was one of the forces behind the creation of Medicare for older Americans.
Mr. Reuther’s successor, Leonard Woodcock, urged American businesses in 1970 to support a national health care plan as a way to fight raging health care inflation.
In the absence of a national system, the union instead secured generous health care benefits for its members and retirees, which have since added up to a $55 billion liability for G.M. and a nearly $100 billion liability for the industry over all.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
DETAILS OF GM/UAW DEAL BEGIN TO EMERGE
From The New York Times:
For a generation, executives at the Detroit auto companies have complained that the huge cost of providing generous benefits for its unionized workers put them at a competitive disadvantage with surging foreign car companies like Toyota and Honda.
Now, with a new contract agreement with the United Automobile Workers reached before dawn yesterday, General Motors has taken a momentous step toward eliminating much of that burden, a step likely to be followed by Ford Motor and Chrysler.
The contract’s main feature — a health care trust called a voluntary employee benefit association, or VEBA — means that G.M. will no longer have to carry the debt it will owe for employee and retiree health care benefits on its books. Earlier this year, G.M.’s chief executive, Rick Wagoner, referred to those obligations as “very large and frankly formidable.”
That debt is estimated at $55 billion for the next 80 years. So G.M. will establish the trust with about 70 percent of that amount, making an upfront payment of cash, stock and other assets. The difference is expected to come from gains on investments by the trust.
In return, the union won guarantees that medical benefits for hourly workers and retirees and their families will remain in place for the next two years. G.M. will also invest money in its American plants, and will maintain its current union work force of 73,000, according to Ron Gettelfinger, the U.A.W. president.
For a generation, executives at the Detroit auto companies have complained that the huge cost of providing generous benefits for its unionized workers put them at a competitive disadvantage with surging foreign car companies like Toyota and Honda.
Now, with a new contract agreement with the United Automobile Workers reached before dawn yesterday, General Motors has taken a momentous step toward eliminating much of that burden, a step likely to be followed by Ford Motor and Chrysler.
The contract’s main feature — a health care trust called a voluntary employee benefit association, or VEBA — means that G.M. will no longer have to carry the debt it will owe for employee and retiree health care benefits on its books. Earlier this year, G.M.’s chief executive, Rick Wagoner, referred to those obligations as “very large and frankly formidable.”
That debt is estimated at $55 billion for the next 80 years. So G.M. will establish the trust with about 70 percent of that amount, making an upfront payment of cash, stock and other assets. The difference is expected to come from gains on investments by the trust.
In return, the union won guarantees that medical benefits for hourly workers and retirees and their families will remain in place for the next two years. G.M. will also invest money in its American plants, and will maintain its current union work force of 73,000, according to Ron Gettelfinger, the U.A.W. president.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
GM & UAW REACH TENTATIVE AGREEMENT
From The New York Times:
The United Automobile Workers union and General Motors reached a landmark agreement early today, ending a two-day strike. The key provision of the new contract is a health care trust that would get G.M.’s massive liability off its books.
The deal was announced by the company and the union in separate statements. The U.A.W. had walked out on G.M. on Monday morning, but production will resume this afternoon.
G.M. said the tentative agreement was reached at 3:05 a.m. Eastern. The U.A.W. recessed the strike and said if the contract was not ratified, workers could return to picket lines. The agreement included a memorandum of understanding to establish an independent health care trust, as well as other changes to the national agreement.
G.M. said implementation of the trust would be subject to court approval, as well as a review by G.M.’s accounting for the trust by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The memorandum apparently establishes the principle of the trust, and allows the two sides to complete its details later. Analysts had predicted the union and the company might have to take that step, because of the complexity of such a trust.
“There’s no question this was one of the most complex and difficult bargaining sessions in the history of the G.M./U.A.W. relationship,” Rick Wagoner, G.M.’s chief executive, said in a statement.
The union’s president, Ron Gettelfinger, said the new contract “will absolutely protect their jobs and keep jobs from being reduced.” He said, while not offering specifics, that the number of jobs at G.M. would be “pretty much the same if not higher” when the contract concludes in 2011.
Later, Mr. Gettelfinger confirmed in a radio interview that there was a signing bonus for workers, but declined to state its size. He also declined comment on reports that the contract contained a two-tier wage program, with sharply lower rates for any new workers hired by G.M.
The United Automobile Workers union and General Motors reached a landmark agreement early today, ending a two-day strike. The key provision of the new contract is a health care trust that would get G.M.’s massive liability off its books.
The deal was announced by the company and the union in separate statements. The U.A.W. had walked out on G.M. on Monday morning, but production will resume this afternoon.
G.M. said the tentative agreement was reached at 3:05 a.m. Eastern. The U.A.W. recessed the strike and said if the contract was not ratified, workers could return to picket lines. The agreement included a memorandum of understanding to establish an independent health care trust, as well as other changes to the national agreement.
G.M. said implementation of the trust would be subject to court approval, as well as a review by G.M.’s accounting for the trust by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The memorandum apparently establishes the principle of the trust, and allows the two sides to complete its details later. Analysts had predicted the union and the company might have to take that step, because of the complexity of such a trust.
“There’s no question this was one of the most complex and difficult bargaining sessions in the history of the G.M./U.A.W. relationship,” Rick Wagoner, G.M.’s chief executive, said in a statement.
The union’s president, Ron Gettelfinger, said the new contract “will absolutely protect their jobs and keep jobs from being reduced.” He said, while not offering specifics, that the number of jobs at G.M. would be “pretty much the same if not higher” when the contract concludes in 2011.
Later, Mr. Gettelfinger confirmed in a radio interview that there was a signing bonus for workers, but declined to state its size. He also declined comment on reports that the contract contained a two-tier wage program, with sharply lower rates for any new workers hired by G.M.
Monday, September 24, 2007
GM UAW WORKERS GO ON STRIKE
From AP via MSNBC:
Thousands of United Auto Workers walked off the job at General Motors plants around the country Monday in the first nationwide strike against the U.S. auto industry since 1976.
UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said that job security was the top unresolved issue, adding that the talks did not stumble over a groundbreaking provision establishing a UAW-managed trust that will administer GM's retiree health care obligations. Gettelfinger complained about "one-sided negotiations."
Workers walked off the job and began picketing Monday outside GM plants after the late morning UAW strike deadline passed. The UAW has 73,000 members who work for GM at 82 U.S. facilities, including assembly and parts plants and warehouses.
General Motors Corp. had been pushing hard in the negotiations for the health care trust — known as a Voluntary Employees Beneficiary Association, or VEBA — so it could move $51 billion in unfunded retiree health costs off its books. GM has nearly 339,000 retirees and surviving spouses.
"This strike is not about the VEBA in any way shape or form," Gettelfinger said at an afternoon news conference in Detroit.
"The No. 1 issue here is job security," Gettelfinger later said, adding that the union also was fighting to preserve workers' benefits.
It remained to be seen what effect the strike would have on the automaker and consumers. The company has sufficient stocks of just about every product to withstand a short strike, according to Tom Libby, senior director of industry analysis for J.D. Power and Associates.
Thousands of United Auto Workers walked off the job at General Motors plants around the country Monday in the first nationwide strike against the U.S. auto industry since 1976.
UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said that job security was the top unresolved issue, adding that the talks did not stumble over a groundbreaking provision establishing a UAW-managed trust that will administer GM's retiree health care obligations. Gettelfinger complained about "one-sided negotiations."
Workers walked off the job and began picketing Monday outside GM plants after the late morning UAW strike deadline passed. The UAW has 73,000 members who work for GM at 82 U.S. facilities, including assembly and parts plants and warehouses.
General Motors Corp. had been pushing hard in the negotiations for the health care trust — known as a Voluntary Employees Beneficiary Association, or VEBA — so it could move $51 billion in unfunded retiree health costs off its books. GM has nearly 339,000 retirees and surviving spouses.
"This strike is not about the VEBA in any way shape or form," Gettelfinger said at an afternoon news conference in Detroit.
"The No. 1 issue here is job security," Gettelfinger later said, adding that the union also was fighting to preserve workers' benefits.
It remained to be seen what effect the strike would have on the automaker and consumers. The company has sufficient stocks of just about every product to withstand a short strike, according to Tom Libby, senior director of industry analysis for J.D. Power and Associates.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
TOYOTA #1 IN GLOBAL VEHICLE SALES IN 1ST QUARTER
There is a new leader in global car sales according to data from 2007 first quarter sales.From The Washington Post:
General Motors' 76-year reign as the world's largest automaker is over.
Fifty years after its cars first hit U.S. shores, Japanese automaker Toyota has surged past the 20th-century American colossus, selling more vehicles worldwide than GM during the first three months of this year.
The global sales benchmark had been looming for years, and its realization was only a matter of time, analysts said. In the United States, GM still sells the most vehicles, owning about 23 percent of the market, compared with Toyota's 16 percent.
GM had managed to hold on to its shrinking lead over Toyota in recent years, but the two companies are heading in opposite directions. GM has lost $12.4 billion over the past two years and plans to close 12 North American plants by the end of next year. By comparison, Toyota reported a profit of about $12 billion during its most recent fiscal year and expects to open its eighth North American factory in 2010.
For the first three months of 2007, Toyota sold 2.35 million vehicles worldwide, compared with 2.26 million for GM. Notably, Toyota's sales were up 9.2 percent over the first three months of 2006, while GM's were up 3 percent.
Last year, GM sold 9.1 million vehicles to Toyota's 8.8 million.
Toyota expects to sell 9.3 million cars in 2007; GM does not provide forecasts.
Thursday, January 18, 2007
GM SALES DOWN 1% IN 2006
General Motors announced that sales declined 1% from 2005 to 9.09 million vehicles in 2006. Part of the decline can be attributed to rental car companies purchasing 75,000 fewer vehicles from the company last year. A closer look at the numbers shows that sales outside of the United States actually increased last year to 4.97 million, 55% of the total vehicles sold.
Rival Toyota estimates that it sold 8.8 million vehicles in 2006 and plans to build 9.42 million in 2007. Recently, most analysts have predicted it is a matter of when, not if, Toyota sells more vehicles than GM and takes over the global leader.
USA Today
Rival Toyota estimates that it sold 8.8 million vehicles in 2006 and plans to build 9.42 million in 2007. Recently, most analysts have predicted it is a matter of when, not if, Toyota sells more vehicles than GM and takes over the global leader.
USA Today
Saturday, December 02, 2006
NOVEMBER AUTO SALES RESULTS
Here is the list of winners and losers for November U.S. light-vehicle sales (includes light trucks and SUVs). The comparison listed is November of 2006 to November of 2005.
Winners
Acura +24.0% (division of Honda)
Toyota +15.9%
GM +6.1%
DaimlerChrysler +4.7%
Chrysler Group U.S. +2.9%
Losers
Ford -9.7%
Honda -3.0% (Honda brand only)
Nissan -1.6%
This was only the second month ever that Toyota sold more vehicles in the United States than Ford. Toyota sold 196,695 vehicles to Ford's 181,111.
USA Today
WSJ.com
BusinessWeek
Winners
Acura +24.0% (division of Honda)
Toyota +15.9%
GM +6.1%
DaimlerChrysler +4.7%
Chrysler Group U.S. +2.9%
Losers
Ford -9.7%
Honda -3.0% (Honda brand only)
Nissan -1.6%
This was only the second month ever that Toyota sold more vehicles in the United States than Ford. Toyota sold 196,695 vehicles to Ford's 181,111.
USA Today
WSJ.com
BusinessWeek
Monday, November 13, 2006
LEAKED TOYOTA REPORT SHOWS AMBITIOUS GOAL
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that it has reviewed a leaked document intended for top Toyota executives which sets a goal of 15% market share by 2010. In 2005, Toyota had 11% market share. The company passed Ford as the number two automaker in 2003 and plans to pass GM by 2010. In 2008, Toyota projects production at 9.8 million vehicles, which surpasses GM's 2005 production of 9.2 million, the second-largest output in GM history. Toyota is expecting tremendous growth from the "BRIC" countries - Brazil, Russia, India, and China.
WSJ.com
AP at Yahoo!
WSJ.com
AP at Yahoo!
BIG THREE AUTOMAKERS TO MEET WITH PRESIDENT
On Tuesday, the CEOs of GM, Ford, and Chrysler Group will meet with President Bush, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, and Director of the National Economic Council Al Hubbard at the White House.
From USA Today:
From USA Today:
White House spokesman Tony Snow said Friday that Bush plans to use the meeting to "reaffirm his support for the American auto industry." Snow said Bush also will thank them for their progress on flexible-fuel and hybrid vehicles.
The three topics that will likely dominate the meeting are health care,trade and energy. The automakers also are expected to share concerns about the yen's artificially low value, which helps Japanese firms' profits and hurts U.S. rivals.
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