watcing the news more like 1500 laid off ps let them know no jods in alberta

I find it frustrating that we are digging our own graves. We continue to buy overseas junk because it's cheap. I am just as guilty. What do we do? We can't afford our own stuff any more...

Carl Stevenson wrote:

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I find it frustrating that we are digging our own graves. We continue to buy overseas junk because it's cheap. I am just as guilty. What do we do? We can't afford our own stuff any more...

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can't afford it?? hell, can't FIND it.

It is a recognized fact that the auto industry drives the economy of Ontario and to a lesser degree the country. For every one direct job lost there are 6 or 7 spin off jobs gone, so that number is really more like 8,000 jobs losts.

I think it is terrible the way GM is handling this layoff. The Oshawa plant just signed a new collective agreement in May and they announce this closure only two weeks after! This looks like a classic case of Bargaining In Bad Faith. I hope the union still has the Guaranteed Wage Plan in their collective agreement which is a clause that generally gives the employees 2 years of full wages when combined with Employment Insurance. GM is using the lack of truck sales as an excuse when GM'S real problem is their pension fund. It is very expensive to fund a Defined Benefit Pension Plan  (PP) and with Ontario's laws the PP cannot be underfunded for very long. This layoff will have an immediate effect on the housing market in the Oshawa, Whitby, Ajax area and I feel really sorry for the younger people that still have large loans. The spinoff effect of jobs lost will take years for Oshawa to recover.  Al

Some think the oil speculation bubble is about to burst; it is down to $123 a barrel this morning.  In any event, oil is a world commodity based on world wide prices.  That's just the way it is, baby!  As far as I'm concerned, more power to everyone in Alberta and if you want to benefit, buy shares in oil companies.  A lot of people say oil should be sold cheaper here than it is to foreigners.  If you were a shareholder in an oil company, would you agree to deliberately take less profit than you could otherwise make?  Do Canadian gold mines sell gold at a cheaper price to Canadians than they do to others on the world market?  Of course not, why should they?  Bombardier does not sell planes cheaper to Air Canada than they do to anyone else as well.  I could go on and on but the point is made.

It is unfortunate for the workers in Oshawa that GM primarily builds a product there that no one wants right now.  At the same time, the good times rolled in Oshawa for the last couple of decades.  When North Americans were stupidly buying pick-ups and SUVs left, right and centre when gas was relatively cheap, no one in the CAW was complaining about GM's product choice there.  Quite frankly, North Americans have been buying far bigger vehicles than most of them really need for a long time and are now paying the price.  How many people buy a big pick-up to haul a trailer a couple of times a year and then try to justify using it as a daily driver the rest of the time?  Just plain stupid if you ask me.  Up until now 50% of GM and Ford's annual production has been trucks.  50%! Does 50% of the population really need a truck to drive every day?  I have had the benefit of travelling all over the world because of my job seeing what people buy in other countries and most people manage to survive quite well in smaller cars for day to day use.

"This is about, 'The U.S. market has radically changed and we have to adapt to that,' said GM CEO Rick Wagoner at the GM shareholders meeting."

DUH!!!!!  Welcome to the 21st century the formerly Big 3!  Why is it that every major auto manufacturer outside of North America is much better positioned to deal with the current situation?  Maybe because they actually think about the future and try and forecast accordingly?  My company is constantly estimating what the world market, demand and costs will be for our products 10 years out.  The formerly big 3 were so big, fat, happy and lazy for so long and took everything for granted including demand for an outdated product line-up and now they are paying the price.  The unions were happy to be along for the ride and drove up costs through generous wage settlements that the companies should have resisted.  They should have used some of that money on realistic planning and product development, now they are scrambling at the last minute.  Both the companies and their workforces have been arrogant, looks good on you now.  Last I heard, Toyota and Honda are still planning to expand their operations and employment in Ontario.  Another interesting fact:

The Ford F-150 pickup truck has been dethroned in May as America's favorite vehicle for the first time in a month since 1991 -- by four sedans.

According to preliminary sales figures released by automakers, Ford Motor Co. sold 42,973 F-series trucks in May, while Toyota Motor Corp. sold 52,826 Corollas and 51,291 Camrys.

The Honda Civic beat all vehicles with sales of 53,299 vehicles -- an all-time record for any month -- while the Honda Accord raked in another 43,728 in sales, according to American Honda Motor Co.

It's about time.  GM, Ford and Chrylser need to concentrate on cars, not trucks.  I also hear GM is planning to sell or shut down its Hummer division.  Starting it in the first place was one of the stupidest things GM has ever done.

Thank you!    

-- Edited by 427carl at 21:34, 2008-06-04

As much as I love my old car and pray they don't get regulated off the roads, I am a huge fan of alternative powered vehicles. I had my first taste of a Prius on the road today and it is quite a vehicle. At slow speeds it runs strictly off electric motors. Kick down the pedal and the motor kicks in. Theres a full time instant fuel economy reading and it was kind of neat to see it read "0 litres/100km" at times! I REALLY hope GM succeeds in getting the Volt out in 2010 at a price the average Joe can afford. If it's going to be 50 grand, they may as well shelve the whole project.

Ya, just think. In the future we could be asking "So, how many WATTS is that puppy putting out?"

Wow!

nobody cares about factory workers-everyone has been jealous of them for too long.

 When the Atlas steels in Welland closed, people laughed-good for them -they don't understand the spinoffs or the amount of dollars that is removed from the economy. If we don't have upper middle income earners that blow their money into the economy we have no economy-WE ARE IN BIG TROUBLE !

-- Edited by 67BBSD at 03:52, 2008-06-05