Posted by
Chris Warren on Saturday, December 20, 2008 2:51:43 PM
Maybe I'm too cynical. Maybe I'm too negative. But I'm SICK TO DEATH to this bailout "business".
Are we going to bailout the automakers for a failing business model fueled by
hyper-inflated wages to pacify powerful unions? Sure looks like we are in some form or fashion.
Are we going to bailout companies who let people earn between $70,000 to $85,000 sitting in a "job bank"? (Because of unions).
Clearly its not impossible to succeed as an automaker in today's world, as facts from Big Three Auto ProCon.org show. Toyota
and Honda respective market shares have increased 18.1% and 10.3. Toyota has outsold GM by
25.1 billion, using less workers (25,000 to GM's 96,000). The average hourly cost of an employee (benefits included) at the "Big 3" is $73.21. The average cost for both Honda and Toyota is $48 per hour. The average revenue per employee at GM is
$680,910 while the average revenue per Toyota employee is $830,043. Toyota showed a $13.93 billion net profit in 2007 while GM took a $38.73 billion net loss.
Let the Big 3 (UAW) fall on their collectively bargaining butts. Its not that I want to see them all go under. (I drive a Saturn Vue, and have always had a soft spot for Ford Trucks)....that said...How on earth can the total hourly rate for the average employee at the Big 3 be worth $25.21 more that Honda or Toyota?
No offense intended to the Big 3 employees. I work for a pharma company. If the normal market wages for my position were $65,000-$85000...how could it possibly be good for the economy or the industry if I unionized and made a "mandatory" salary of $120,000? To the employee without thinking through the ramifications, it may sound nice up front, but it really playing chicken with a freight train.
To the Big 3...if you want to gain my respect?
- Throw the union out on its a**. (Yes easier said than done)
- Less models of vehicles/better models of vehicles
- Pay your workers well...AT THE CURRENT MARKET VALUE for the position. (They can be employeed at market rates...or be competing with each other for market rates at Honda, when the Big 3 fold.
- Remember the jobs are yours (not the employees), they are there because of the skill set you need.
- If your Senior Management still can't get it right....Find someone who can.
Thats my rant. Feels good to vent a little every now and then...