GM (NYSE: GM) is showing rising problems in its light truck operations. Pick-up and SUV sales seem to be getting hurt by housing problems and relatively high fuel costs.
After shutting shifts at several U.S. plants, the action is moving to Canada. According to Reuters, the car company will shut down a shift in Oshawa, Ontario, and lay off 1,000 workers.
GM and Ford (NYSE: F) are facing a much harsher environment than they were when they began cutting billions of dollars in costs. The hope then was that if they could hold market share in the U.S., their North American operations would become profitable. The current negotiations with the UAW are part of a strategy to pick up the pace of that process.
What GM probably did not expect was a near-recession in the part of the market which tends to buy pick-ups. Builders and blue collar workers are in the midst of an economy that is pinching their incomes.
GM has done a lot right, but what it cannot control may be its worst enemy.
Douglas A. McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-31-2007 @ 9:34AM
sjstanleyks said...
GM wants excuses to close more plants in North America anyway it can!
9-08-2007 @ 9:15AM
workerbee said...
Eliminate the union workforce! Profits will rise and survival of the company will grow. Union workers are lazy, greedy, uneducated, and nonsuportive of the goals of businesses. Learn from businesses like Toyota and invest in lean manufacturing, team building, and cross-skill training with non-union workforces. There are many non-union workers available in the US who value having a job ans supporting the growth of american business. Financial burdens like Health care, taxes, and credit crunches are a government problem, not an automaker problem. Does anyone supporting these incorregable unions understand that? Stop blaming the automakers and start protesting against our elected officials. Think Bush cares if you have a job or not? Well, he doesn't he has never known what it is like to be on the verge of poverty. GET TO WORK! STOP WHINING and IMPROVE EFFICIENCY and SELF PRIDE. Your unions and government are the enemy, wake up and get smart! China is coming to country near you soon.
9-13-2007 @ 11:58AM
alstroboy said...
i agree with workerbee 110%....this is America...hence no guarantees anymore !!
9-20-2007 @ 9:06PM
steve said...
Government are all to giving of our taxpayers money here in Canada and the U.S. to Asian automakers to steal our market share. "Free Trade" has lost us hundreds of thousands of good paying manufacturing jobs. The "level playing" field is to bring us down to third world wages....yet right wing governments here in Canada and the U.S. sit with their heads in the sand while Asian automakers send their profits back overseas. SHAME ON THEM. If they had any spines they would negotiate "fair trad" so the Asian markets would be open to our vehicles, which they are not. Did you know Toyota had more vehicle recalls than sales in 2006 in the U.S.? So much for their "superior" quality lol.