GM, Chrysler Restructure with Layoffs, Plant Closures

Detroit

DETROIT-Tuesday, General Motors and Chrysler submitted the first part of their plan for viability to the federal government. The companies requested an additional $14 billion to bail them out of their financial crisis and vowed to cut jobs and close plants.

GM’s plan involves the elimination of 47,000 additional jobs, from its current worldwide workforce of 244,000. Roughly, 21,000 US employees will lose their jobs in this round of layoffs. Between 2000 and 2008, GM shuttered 12 manufacturing facilities in the US. It has plans to close an additional 14 plants, which is five more than it planned to eliminated in December. When the closures complete by 2012, GM will own 33 North American plants. It is uncertain at this time which plants will be closing.

Additionally, GM plans to re-shape its dealer network with fewer and better located dealerships. From 2004 to 2008 dealerships declined from 7,367 to 6,246, a 15% reduction. Current plans will accelerate dealership reduction by an additional 25%. This will mean decreasing the total number of US dealerships from 6,246 to 4,700 by 2012. An additional 600 dealerships could be eliminated by 2014.

In December GM asked the federal government for $18 billion to help make the company viable again. It is now adjusting that number, requesting an additional $7.5 billion worth of government aid and a $4.5 billion US secured revolver credit facility. Repayment of the $30 billion worth of loans would begin in 2012, according to current plans.

"The U.S. and global auto industries are facing times of unprecedented challenge," says GM chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner, in a release. "These conditions dictate that we must take very tough actions to accelerate GM's restructuring efforts. The plan we delivered today to the US Treasury is aggressive but achievable. It provides a clear pathway for GM that continues to support American manufacturing and technology innovation, which are vital to the future of our nation's economy."

Chrysler has plans to eliminate an additional 3,000 jobs. At the end of 2008, Chrysler had already reduced its workforce by 37%, for a total of 32,000 layoffs. The company will also discontinue three vehicle models. For its part, Chrysler has requested an additional $2 billion government loan, on top of it’s original $7 billion request. The company is still working with Italy’s Fiat to bring the Italian automaker into the mix as a strategic alliance partner. The non-binding agreement gives Fiat a 33% control of the company, with the possibility of taking 55% control down the road.

“We believe the requested working capital loan is the least-costly alternative and will help provide an important stimulus to the U.S. economy and deliver positive results for American taxpayers,” Chrysler officials said in a statement. “This plan will ensure the continued provision of health care and pension benefits to our active employees and retirees, while continuing to protect hundreds of thousands of middle class, quality American jobs at Chrysler, our dealer network and our suppliers."

Two hundred twenty seven skilled trades workers get layoff notices

By Melissa Mancini

OSHAWA -- More than 200 skilled trades workers at the Oshawa car plant got layoff notices this week.

The cut is a result of two previously announced production-slowing measures.

In November GM announced the line rate in the plant would be reduced because the Buick would no longer be built in Oshawa.

In December the company announced it would cut the third shift at the car plant. The move resulted in 1,200 layoffs.

When the shift was cut GM spokeswoman Patty Faith said it was considered temporary, the result of declining U.S. auto sales. The third shift has been off since Christmas.

The skilled trades workers affected by these previous cuts are just being impacted now, Ms. Faith said.

"Skilled trades had been retained to support other plant activities related to the Flex line, etc, which is why they are just receiving their notices now, but they are part of that 1,200," Ms. Faith said in an e-mail.

Thousands of Jobs Cut in One Day

Detroit, MI - General Motors will cut 2,000 jobs at plants in Michigan and Ohio and stop production for several weeks at nine plants due to slow sales. GM spokesman Chris Lee said Monday about 1,200 workers will be laid off at the Michigan plant, 800 jobs will be cut in Ohio.

Lee says the cuts are part of the Detroit automaker's continuing efforts to "align production with market demand." The plant shutdowns come about a month after GM temporarily closed twenty factories across North America due to dramatically weaker automobile demand. Some were closed for the entire month of January.

Also Monday, Sprint-Nextel announced it will cut 8,000 jobs and Home Depot will layoff 7,000 employees and close forty specialty stores in the next two months. Home Depot corporate officers will take a pay freeze. Other companies announcing layoffs Monday; Caterpillar, Pfizer and Texas Instruments.

Reported by Carrie Murphy, cmurphy@action3news.com

62,000 Jobs Are Cut by U.S. and Foreign Companies

By JACK HEALY
Published: January 26, 2009
Employers have tried to nip and tuck their labor costs by reducing overtime, shortening the workweek and freezing wages, but now, they are reaching for the saw.

On Monday alone, companies across the employment spectrum announced more than 65,000 job cuts in the United States and around the world, a stark sign that businesses are enduring a painful, protracted downturn.

Monday’s toll included 20,000 cuts at Caterpillar, the world’s largest maker of construction and mining machinery; 8,000 jobs at the wireless provider Sprint Nextel; 7,000 workers at Home Depot, and 8,000 from the expected merger of the pharmaceutical makers Pfizer and Wyeth. The beleaguered automaker General Motors announced that it would cut shifts at plants in Michigan and Ohio, where the downturn has hit hardest, eliminating some 2,000 jobs.

And Texas Instruments said after the market closed on Monday that it would cut 3,400 jobs or 12 percent of its work force through 1,800 layoffs and 1,600 buyouts or retirements.

In Europe, the banking and insurance group ING said it would cut 7,000 jobs; the electronics company Philips, 6,000; and the steel maker Corus, 3,500 worldwide.

“We’re now into the danger zone,” said Brian Bethune, chief United States financial economist at IHS Global Insight. “It really becomes pernicious because the uncertainty increases, corporate confidence is badly battered, and you get these severe measures being taken.”

President Obama cited the layoff announcements in remarks Monday morning as he urged action on an $825 billion economic stimulus package of tax cuts, emergency benefits and public spending projects.

“These are not just numbers on a page,” Mr. Obama said. “As with the millions of jobs lost in 2008, these are working men and women whose families have been disrupted and whose dreams have been put on hold. We owe it to each of them and to every single American to act with a sense of urgency and common purpose. We can’t afford distractions and we cannot afford delays.”

The United States economy has dropped some 2.59 million jobs since the recession began in December 2007, and unemployment rose to 7.2 percent last month. Economists worry that the economy could now be losing as many as 600,000 jobs a month, and they said Monday’s layoff announcements served to underline the stricken state of the labor market.

Last week, the government reported that first-time unemployment claims had risen to 589,000 for the week ending Jan. 17, tying a record high set in December.

The latest job cuts — and the additional announcements likely to come in a cascading pattern as job losses through the economy cause demand to shrink further and thus lead to more layoffs mean more pain for states, as unemployment insurance claims rise and deplete state coffers.

The Obama administration has proposed setting aside $43 billion to help blunt the problem and provide for new recipients of unemployment insurance and existing ones. That money is intended to raise the weekly benefits, to extend how long people can collect those payments and to cover more types of workers, like part-timers. It is largely based upon an estimate that the unemployment rate will peak at 8.3 percent in 2010. But if unemployment reaches the double-digits, as some economists expect, the funding will almost certainly not be enough, economists say.

“The economy is deteriorating at a faster clip than even the most dreary forecasts had expected,” said the economist Joseph Brusuelas. “At the current trend, $43 billion will not be sufficient, should we breach 9 percent unemployment and maybe reach into the double digits.”

Monday’s announcements only added to a grim parade of job cuts from Wall Street to wireless providers to computer companies to retail stores.

Last week,Microsoft announced it would cut 5,000 jobs over the next year and a half; Sony in Japan and Ericcson in Sweden each announced 5,000 layoffs; and the motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson said it was eliminating 1,000 jobs. Carmakers in Japan, South Korea and Europe have also cut jobs in recent months as did the cellphone maker Nokia.

“It steepens the whole downturn,” said Harry Holzer, a labor economist at Georgetown University and the Urban Institute. “The magnitude of these layoffs indicates that the downturn in the labor markets seems to be accelerating.”

“This is a big deal,” said Dean Baker, a director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research. “We’re losing jobs at an incredibly rapid rate, and even with that, I’m worried they’re accelerating. We’re seeing a much more rapid rate of layoff announcements.”

Caterpillar, which has been hurt by falling orders for construction and mining machinery, said Monday morning that it would cull 20,000 workers through layoffs and buyouts. It said it would make “sharp declines” in overtime and eliminate scores of temporary and contract jobs.

The company said 2009 would be one of its weakest years since World War II.

“These are very uncertain times,” the chief executive, James W. Owens, said in a statement. “While it’s painful for our employees and suppliers, it’s absolutely necessary given economic circumstances. We expect to have most of the actions needed to lower employment and cost levels in place by the end of the first quarter.”

“We were whipsawed in the fourth quarter as key industries were hit by a rapidly deteriorating global economy and plunging commodity prices,” Mr. Owens said.

The wireless provider, Sprint Nextel, said its 8,000 job cuts were part of a plan to trim labor costs by $1.2 billion, and said most of the cuts would be completed by March 31. About 850 of the job cuts are expected to come through buyouts, which will cost the company $300 million in severance costs and related expenses.

“Labor reductions are always the most difficult action to take, but many companies are finding it necessary in this environment," Sprint’s chief executive, Daniel R. Hesse, said.

Home Depot, the country’s largest home-supply chain, said it would cut 7,000 jobs, about 2 percent of its work force, and would close its higher-end Expo Design Center business, which includes 34 stores.

Carol B. Tomé, Home Depot’s chief financial officer, said in a telephone interview that the company began exploring ways to save its Expo business months ago, but “as we kept looking at alternatives the business kept getting softer and softer.”

With no sign of consumers cracking open their wallets anytime soon, executives simply realized, “we can’t fix it.”

Stephanie Rosenbloom and Catherine Rampell contributed reporting.

GM to lay off 340 at western NY engine plan

TONAWANDA, N.Y. - General Motors is placing nearly a third of workers at its westernNew York engine plant on an indefinite layoff, saying it needs to align production with consumer demand.

The GM Powertrain plant has about 1,130 hourly employees.

In a statement Tuesday, GM spokeswoman Nina Price cited the overall weak economy and said GM is continuing to monitor changes in the market.

The layoffs take effect Jan. 26.

General Motors Cuts 744 Jobs In Brazil Unit

Read article by clicking link

The Layoff Kings: The Companies That Cut The Most In 2008

(C)(HPQ)(T)(GM)(BAC)(SBUX)(WFC)(DOW)(JAVA)(JPM)(AMR)(MRK)

People who get to the end of 2008 and are still at work can be thankful. The unemployment rate will probably be over 7%. That does not count the people no longer looking for work. Add them in and the figure is probably over 12%.

The business headlines have been filled with reports of layoffs nearly every day in the last half of the year. A lot of these have come at big, profitable companies, which says something about what they expect in 2009. Obviously, many of the largest cuts came at firms such as Citigroup, which are struggling to stay afloat, or firms such as Bear Stearns which simply disappeared.

Here is the 24/7 Wall St. 2008 report on the twenty largest layoffs by company. If a firm cut more than once during the year, those numbers have been combined for an annual total. We extend special thanks to Challenger, Gray & Christmas for its help.

1. Citigroup announced layoffs of just over 73,000. The big bank announced last month that it would let over 50,000 people go on top of 23,000 already fired or that were in the process of leaving. New CEO Vikram Pandit has done an especially poor job of getting Citi back on track. The firm’s stock has fallen from a 52-week high of $31.14 to $7.83. Several stock analysts have cut their fourth quarter earnings estimates. The government’s bailout of the bank, put together last month, may not be enough. Citi may have to raise more capital and fire more people.

2. The Bank of America (BAC) buyout of Merrill Lynch will cost 35,000 people their jobs. There are overlaps at the companies particularly the research and investment banking divisions. A total of 11% of the combined workforce will be shown the door. The layoffs at the newly merged company may not be over. Bank of America is considered undercapitalized. It took on a lot of home mortgages when it bought Countrywide. The net effect of that is that its stock is off as much as Citi’s over the last three months. The BAC roll-up of Merrill and Countrywide probably won’t work without a lot more costs cut.

3. General Motors (GM) has said that its cuts for this year add up to almost 34,000 people. That number is modest compared with the number of jobs the company took out in 2006 and 2007. If the firm goes into Chapter 11 cuts for 2009 may go up again.

4. Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) is one of the most successful tech companies in the world, perhaps because it is ruthless as keeping costs down. It bought IT consulting firm EDS earlier this year and slashed 25,000 people while mashing the two operations together.

5. Lehman Brothers simply does not exist anymore. In September, the company filed for Chapter 11. Some of the people in divisions bought by other companies or kept open waiting for buyers may be OK, but more than 23,000 poor souls were shoved out of work.

6. AT&T (T) is another company which is doing remarkably well, but does not want to face a hard economy with excess staff. The one part of the firm which has done very badly is its traditional landline business. The number of people and businesses who keep a traditional phone is dropping. Too many customers are moving to cell service of VoIP. The phone company chopped 12,000 people earlier this month. Added to other, smaller cuts and the total for the year is more than 17,000.

7. DHL Express cut almost 15,000 people. The ground and air shipping industry is being torn up by people who save money by using the post office or electronic delivery. DHL rivals Fedex (FDX) and UPS (UPS) are also having a hard time. DHL’s parent, Deutsche Post World Net, closed its land and air shipping operation in the US in early November.

8. The California Department of Education shows that the public sector is not being sparred. California has gone to the federal government for aid because of a massive budget deficit. The state is paying some vendors with IOUs and is threatening to cut some services completely. In the midst of all that 14,000 teachers will be out of work. If over-muscled governor Arnold Schwarzenegger cannot get California’s books balanced, the state will be letting a lot more people go.

9. Starbacks (SBUX) founder Howard Schultz came back to the company as CEO when he saw that the people he had put in place to run the company were screwing it up. His return did not make that any better. No one at the firm wanted to believe that customers would not pay $4 for a fancy cup of coffee in a recession, especially when McDonald’s was selling the same product for $2. To keep Starbucks in the black it closed over 600 stores and fired more than 12,000 people. The premium coffee business is not getting any better. The job cuts at Starbucks are not over.

10. Chrysler let over 12,000 people of this year on top of all those who left in 2007. Since the car company is on the brink of Chapter 11, the number of workers who leave the company may still move way up.

11. Citigroup tried to buy Wachovia, but Wells Fargo (WFC) snuck in a side door and got the prize. This was one of a number of large bank and brokerage house mergers. It probably would not have mattered who bought Wachovia. To save money and cut redundant services, the firm cut more than 11,000 jobs

12. Dow Chemical (DOW) is another profitable operation where earnings are being squeezed by the economic downturn. To combat falling margins, the firm is closing 20 plants and laying off 5,000 workers and 6,000 contractors. All those people being let go will be happy to hear the company is keeping its dividend.

13. NASA has said it will need fewer people when the space shuttle goes into retirement. The agency that put a man on the moon is cutting nearly 11,000 jobs.

14. The State of California makes the list twice as it chops seasonal jobs to preserve more cash. That means fewer lifeguards and guards at the state capital. It may also take longer to get a driver’s license. The cuts total more than 10,000 people

.15. Sun Microsystems (JAVA) is one of the worst run tech companies in the world. To stay ahead of its revenue trouble it likes to make big jobs cuts every year. In 2008, the total is 9,500. Instead of one big layoff, Sun decided to make one announcement early in the year and one last month. Sun will take a charge of about $600 million. No wonder the stock trades at just over $4. A little over a year ago, shares changed hands at $24. What is surprising is that CEO Jonathan Schwartz is still on board.

16. Bennigan’s filed for Chapter 7 in July. People just can’t afford to eat out the way that they used to. The restaurant company’s 150 company-owned stores shut down. Over 9,000 people lost jobs.

17. JP Morgan Chase (JPM) bought the banking operations of Washington Mutual, a bank which had become bloated with home mortgage loans made when real estate prices were flying up. JPM raised $10 billion to cover the costs of the transaction. It will get part of that money back by cutting over 9,000 people.

18. Bear Stearns simply disappeared in March after being in business for 85 years. JPMorgan bought the place for $2 a share. Because of rumors about Bear’s mortgage holdings customers started to pull their money out. The investment house was gone before it had a chance to say goodbye to its staff. JPM did not need all those bankers and brokers. More than 9,000 people were forced out of work.

19. American Airlines (AMR) was a victim of high fuel costs. Faced with rumors it could not finance its operations with oil well above $100, it had to cut the number of routes it was flying, the number of planes it operated, and more than 8,500 jobs

20. Merck (MRK) was just one of the Big Pharma firms that made big cuts this year. Bristol-Myers (BMY) recently said it would have to go through another round of cuts as patents run out on drugs and price pressure from generics rise. The harsh environment and a forecast of a bad 2009 caused the firm to chop more than 8,000 people.

It is hard to believe that just 20 companies have cut over 400,000 people in less than a year, but it is only the tip of the iceberg.

Douglas A. McIntyre

More Layoffs For Boxwood Auto Plant

GM cuts 2,000 jobs, 700 in Ontario

GM Announces Layoffs At Lordstown, Ohio Plant

Claycomo, Fairfax plants to feel sting of auto layoffs

By MIKE CASEY

The Kansas City Star

Slumping auto sales at Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. will rip through the Kansas City area this year and next when the automakers idle workers.

Ford on Friday announced looming temporary cutbacks at its Claycomo plant, and GM reported indefinite layoffs for 370 workers starting early next year at its Fairfax plant. Both automakers on Friday reported losses for the third quarter.

The automakers, in another important sign of financial weakness, also said they had burned through $14.6 billion in cash during the period. GM said its financial condition is so dire that it may run out of money next year, but Ford said it had enough cash to make it through the downturn.

Friday’s announcements came the day after leaders from GM, Ford and Chrysler LLCpressed congressional leaders for federal help. Meanwhile, President-elect Barack Obama said Friday that his focus on the economy will include helping the auto industry.

But later this month the bad news from Michigan will start hurting the local economy, where Ford and GM are major local employers.

Ford will shut down the sport utility line of the Claycomo plant starting the week of Nov. 17 when it temporarily idles about 3,000 workers who make the Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner. That cutback had been announced earlier, but on Friday the automaker said it will follow up with similar action the weeks of Dec. 15 and Dec. 22.

The layoffs will not affect the 1,000 workers who make the F-150 pickup truck.

“It’s painful and difficult for employees, but we have to align our production capacity with demand,” said Ford spokeswoman Angie Kozleski.

Sales for the Escape and Mariner have been down slightly this year, while sales of the F-150 have been down more drastically. However, Ford introduced a new F-150 in the fall.

GM announced that starting Feb. 2 it will indefinitely lay off 370 workers at its Fairfax plant, which has about 2,750 employees.

“It’s a shame,” said Jeff Manning, president of Local 31 of the United Auto Workersunion. “It’s a sign of the whole economy.”

GM spokesman Tony Sapienza said GM will slow production at the Fairfax assembly plant in anticipation of sales dropping next year. “We think 2009 will be a difficult year,” he said.

He noted that sales of the Chevrolet Malibu and Saturn Aura have increased this year.

In all, GM plans 3,600 indefinite layoffs at 10 assembly plants starting next year.

The news out of Michigan on Friday put an exclamation point on the sinking fortunes of GM and Ford.

GM reported that it lost $2.5 billion, or $4.45 per share, during the quarter, compared with a record-setting loss of $42.5 billion, or $75.12 per share, a year ago. The automaker said that its cash burn for the quarter accelerated to $6.9 billion and that government aid will be “essential” because of the slow economy and credit crisis.

GM also said it had suspended talks to acquire Chrysler. While it didn’t specifically name the automaker, GM said it was setting aside considerations for a “strategic acquisition.”

Ford said it burned through $7.7 billion in cash and will eliminate about 2,260 more white-collar employees in North America. It wasn’t known whether any Claycomo white-collar employees will be affected.

The automaker said it lost $129 million, or 6 cents per share, for the third quarter, compared with a loss of $380 million, or 19 cents per share, a year ago.

The company posted a pretax loss of $2.7 billion from continuing operations. But it was offset partly by a $2 billion gain as the company shifted retiree health care liabilities to a trust run by the UAW.

Ford’s global automotive operations had a pretax loss of $2.9 billion for the quarter, compared with a pretax loss of $362 million a year earlier.

Sales fell 22 percent, to $32.1 billion from $41.1 billion, due to lower volume and the sale of Jaguar and Land Rover.

Excluding special items, Ford lost $1.31 per share, worse than Wall Street expected. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters predicted a loss of 94 cents per share on sales of $28 billion.

“While Ford has been dramatically affected by the difficult business environment, we remain absolutely convinced that we have the right plan and are taking the right actions to weather this difficult period,” Alan Mulally, president and chief executive, told industry analysts.

Ford’s shares rose 4 cents Friday and closed at $2.02, while GM’s shares fell 44 cents and closed at $4.36.

On Thursday, Detroit’s automakers appealed to congressional leaders for $25 billion more in federal loans, low-interest emergency borrowing and a share of the Wall Street bailout. GM, Ford and Chrysler pledged to work with the leaders “to ensure immediate and necessary funding to keep the auto industry viable and its transformation on track,” according to a GM statement.

Congress approved $25 billion in low-interest loans for domestic automakers and suppliers to retool plants to build fuel-efficient vehicles. But allies of the industry have said the money will not be available quickly enough to help.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. To reach Mike Casey, call 816-234-4305 or send e-mail to mcasey@kcstar.com.

GM to lay off 1,200 in metro Detroit, 1,600 total

General Motors Corp. will lay off about 1,600 hourly workers at assembly plants in Detroit, Pontiac and Wilmington, Del., as it responds to decreasing demand for trucks, large cars and luxury cars, the company said today.

The company will lay off 500 workers at its Detroit Hamtramck Assembly plant on Dec. 23 due to reduced demand for the Buick Lucerne and Cadillac DTS, the company reported to the state today.

GM Spokesman Tony Sapienza said the Detroit Hamtramck layoffs are effective Jan. 12.

It will lay off 700 workers at GM’s Pontiac truck assembly, where it assembles the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups beginning Feb. 1.

The automaker will lay off 400 workers at its Wilmington, Del., assembly plant beginning Dec. 8. The Wilmington plant assembles the Saturn Sky, Pontiac Solstice and Opel GT roadsters.

GM spokeswoman Sherrie Childers Arb said the layoffs in Detroit and Pontiac are the result of planned line-speed reductions. The action at Wilmington, she said, is the result of plans to reduce production from two shifts to one.

The notice of pending December layoffs is just the latest in a cascade of layoff announcements from the struggling automaker. GM announced on Monday plans to close its Janesville plant on Dec. 23 — more than a year before originally scheduled — and new plans to close its Grand Rapids stamping plant by December of next year. Earlier this month, the company announced plans to accelerate the closure of its Moraine, Ohio, assembly plant by more than a year. That plant will also close on Dec. 23.

Analysts expect GM to announce more production cuts and plant closures.

The company is in the midst of cutting costs to increase its operating cash amid the worst auto market in more than a decade and a global economic slowdown that economists believe still could worsen.

Contact KATIE MERX at 313-222-8762 or kmerx@freepress.com

1,200 Auto Workers Learn Of Holiday Layoffs

Job Layoffs In The Skies And On The Ground

WASHINGTON (NBC) -- Tuseday, General Motors is expected to lay out new cost-cutting measures that will mean more jobs lost. The number one U.S. automaker in sales is changing along with the bigger U.S. economic picture.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will talk about that Tuesday on Capitol Hill. Expect a focus Tuesday in the Senate on banks: investors started the week fleeing bank stocks, something Fed Chairman Bernanke is bound to address along with the state of air travel and automakers.
Tuesday, job cuts hit travel in the skies. And the ground, General Motors will announce new layoffs, and maybe new plant closures tied to the drop-off in U.S. truck sales.

Midwest Airlines announced it's shedding 1,200 or 40% of its workers. If you're planning a trip, the company says, wait. Michael Brophy, Midwest Airlines Spokesperson, says "if I'm a traveler, a passenger, I think they'll need to wait to see our schedule, we'll communicate that as widely as we can so people can see the impact."

It's more evidence of a transforming U.S. economy. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke starts two days of testimony Tuesday. In a rare move, the Fed invited cameras in to publicize its new rules against shady lending. Lenders will have to confirm borrowers' ability to pay the mortgages back, a move critics say is needed to turn a corner.

Rep. Barney Frank, who sits on the House Financial Services Committee, says "I think we are the point where much of the bad stuff is over; that is, we will be reducing the number of foreclosures." And the political tussle on energy continues.

President Bush lifted an executive ban on offshore oil drilling and challenged Congress to do the same but Senate Democrats weren't biting. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says "we want oil and gas companies to drill for oil on the leases they've been given."

What passes for good news: gas prices have leveled off, the government says even fell a tenth of a penny. To drivers a welcome break from the upward climb.

This morning, General Motors' CEO Rick Wagoner will address employees first and then hold a news conference to announce the overhaul. Wagoner assured investors he's not interested in seeking the cover of bankruptcy.

GM Slashes 10,000 Jobs

Layoffs just keep grinding at Ohio

As GM rubs out 2,400 jobs, thousands more in state await the ax
Wednesday, June 4, 2008 3:25 AM
By Dan Gearino
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Rough waters
During the first quarter of 2008, more Ohioans lost their jobs because of layoffs than during any other starting three-month period this decade. The news hasn't gotten better in the second quarter. A look at some of the bigger layoffs announced in Ohio since April 1:
General Motors -- The company will close its Moraine SUV plant at the end of the 2009 or 2010 model year, eliminating 2,500 jobs.
DHL -- The company's plan to hire United Parcel Service as its U.S. air-cargo carrier is expected to result in the elimination of 6,000 jobs in Wilmington, where ABX Air currently provides that service for DHL.
Payday lenders -- Plans for more than 300 job cuts have been announced since the state moved to reform the payday-lending industry. Operators in that industry have said all of the state's 6,000 payday-lending jobs are at risk.
Skybus Airlines -- The Columbus startup folded abruptly in early April, eliminating 365 jobs in central Ohio.
On the plus side, some new jobs, or plans to create them, have been announced:
General Motors -- The company will add a third shift at its Lordstown plant in September and use the plant to build new-generation, high-mileage cars to replace the Cobalt and Pontiac G5 beginning in 2010.
• Stimulus package -- The state passed a $1.6 billion stimulus bill with hopes that the investment in the Ohio economy eventually will create 57,000 jobs.
NetJets -- In March, the company said it will stay and expand at Port Columbus after being courting by other cities, a move that retained 2,000 jobs and is expected to add 800 over the next three years.
Source: Dispatch research
A bad year for Ohio workers just got worse.
General Motors said yesterday that it will close its sport-utility-vehicle plant south of Dayton in Moraine, one of four plants the company is shutting down in North America.
The move, which will cost Ohio roughly 2,400 jobs, is an exclamation point in a year of grim job news.
Ohio lost 19,423 jobs to mass layoffs in the first three months of this year, the greatest first-quarter loss this decade.
More recently, the bad news has continued to come in waves, from the sudden demise of Skybus in early April to last week's word that ABX Air could lose thousands of jobs in Wilmington because it no longer would provide services to package shipper DHL.
The worst might be yet to come. In all but one of the last eight years, the most layoffs happened in the fourth quarter.
"We're certainly experiencing several shocks or risks in the economy," said Keith Ewald, chief of the Ohio Bureau of Labor Market Information.
He said the slowdown in the housing market and the high price of gasoline make it unlikely that employers will add jobs in the near future.
Ohio is suffering because of its high concentration of jobs in struggling industries, such as durable-goods manufacturing. States with a greater concentration are facing an even deeper downturn, said James Coons, co-owner and principal of J.W. Coons Advisors in Columbus.
"The good news is, we're not Michigan," he said.
Gov. Ted Strickland said GM informed him about its decision to close the Moraine plant late Monday. He called the news "disheartening" but understandable, given the high price of fuel. GM is closing some truck and SUV plants to focus more on car production.
The governor, a Democrat, blamed President Bush for not doing more to address the effect that high gasoline prices have had on the economy.
Jason Mauk, executive director of the Ohio Republican Party, called Strickland's comments "disingenuous" and said blaming Bush won't help solve the problem.
But the news from GM was not all bad. The company said it will add a third shift at its Lordstown plant this year and will begin making a new high-mileage car at the northeastern Ohio plant near Warren beginning in 2010.
"Lordstown was saved because they've been a small-car specialist, and Moraine was closed because it's been a large-truck specialist," said James Rubenstein, a Miami University professor who writes about the auto industry.
The closing in Moraine, which is slated to take effect after the 2009 or 2010 model year, continues a steady drop in GM's Ohio work force.
A state estimate published in March ranked GM as Ohio's 14th-largest employer with 14,650 jobs. Honda was the next carmaker on the list, ranked 17th with 14,000 jobs.
Yesterday's announcement almost certainly means Honda will overtake GM, an event foreshadowed by long-term trends at both companies.
"The significance today is the two lines passed each other," Rubenstein said.
In addition to Moraine, GM said it will close plants in Janesville, Wis.; Ottawa, Ontario; and Toluca, Mexico.
Kelly Schlissberg, spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Development, said the wide-ranging territory covered by the announcement underscores how local workers are part of a global market.
"We in Ohio are constantly working on growing and retaining jobs for Ohioans. We have to also understand that businesses have that global aspect and will make the decision best for them," she said.
Regardless of the reasons, it is a painful blow for workers. Jim Clark, president of the International Union of Electronic Workers-Communication Workers of America, said his union isn't ready to accept the company's decision.
"GM could reward the community's long-time support by working to rebuild the plant's future, not abandoning an already hard-struck area," he said in a statement. "I hope that GM is not out of fresh ideas and new products. They owe Moraine workers and the community."
Dispatch reporter Mark Niquette contributed to this story.
dgearino@dispatch.com

HUMMER BUMMER

SMALL IS IN; SALES OF GAS GUZZLERS SINK
By PAUL THARP
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge

June 4, 2008 -- Pains of $4-plus gasoline and tight consumer credit are finally driving a stake through the heart of the auto industry's gas-guzzlers.

General Motors, which yesterday posted a sharp 30 percent drop in total US sales for May, is also mulling jettisoning the king of the gas hogs, its 9-miles-per-gallon Hummer.

GM also will permanently shutter four pickup and SUV factories - and fire up to 10,000 people - to cut costs.

Ford yesterday said its May sales tumbled 19 percent, but it could have been worse except for the wide popularity of its economical small car, the Focus, which posted a 53 percent jump in May sales, while its midsize Fusion gained 27 percent.

Ford's early start into the two economical cars helped offset the end of the sales supremacy of the venerable F-Series pickup, which held the title as the bestselling vehicle in the US for 26 years - until yesterday.

Honda's Civic outsold Ford's popular F-Series for the first time, and claimed the title as best-selling vehicle. Toyota's Camry and Corolla, and Honda's Accord also outsold Ford's pickups in May.

Even Toyota's popular pickup, the Tundra, dropped 31 percent.

Chrysler, meanwhile, reported a 33 percent decline in car sales and a 22 percent drop in pickups.

GM and Ford have made about 60 percent of their sales from pickups and SUVs for decades.

Their executives, however, told Wall Street analysts that high gas prices could be here to stay, with GM chief Rick Wagoner calling gas pump gouging "a structural change, not just a cyclical change."

Some analysts see $5-a-gallon gas arriving later this summer unless refiners decide to stop hiking gas and start eating more losses from crude's skyrocketing price.

GM also approved production of the long-stalled dream of an electric car - the Volt - which can be charged on a home electric outlet and driven for 40 miles without switching to its small onboard gas engine.

Wagoner said that 18 of GM's next 19 vehicle introductions will be small, new gas-misers or cross-over vehicles.

"It is a watershed month. It's a sign of the times," said Ford's marketing chief Jim Farley, who joined Ford last year after 17 years at Toyota.

paul.tharp@nypost.com

GM Layoff Ripple Claims 336 More Jobs

ANESVILLE - The ripple effect of General Motors layoffs claims more jobs in Janesville.

The company that makes seats for the interior of GM vehicles is announcing major layoffs at their Janesville plant.

Michigan-based Lear Corporation plans to layoff 336 workers on July 14, according to a notice posted Friday by the Department of Workforce Development.

Another GM vendor, Logistics Services, Inc., announced 132 layoffs earlier this month at its Janesville facility. The cut takes effect July 8.

GM plans to layoff 756 workers at the Janesville assembly plant on July 14. The company blames a slumping market for the SUVs built in southern Wisconsin. Gas-guzzling Yukons, Tahoes and Suburbans come off the line in Janesville, among the largest of the company's consumer vehicle

General Motors to Cut Workstaff at Truck and SUV Factories

GM to lay off 3,550 at 4 pickup truck and SUV factories

he dwindling U.S. auto market and an accelerating shift from trucks to cars has brought grim layoff news to four General Motors Corp. factories.The company announced Monday that it plans to cut one shift each at pickup truck and large sport utility vehicle plants in Flint and Pontiac, Mich.; Janesville, Wis.; and Oshawa, Ontario, resulting in about 3,550 layoffs.
The world's largest automaker by sales said the cuts, to take effect this summer, were brought on by weak demand due to high gasoline prices and an economic downturn.GM said it will make about 88,000 fewer pickups and 50,000 fewer big SUVs this calendar year because of the cuts. The layoffs represent just over 4 percent of GM's hourly manufacturing work force of about 80,000 in North America.
The announcement came after stock markets closed. GM shares rose 56 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $21.94 Monday, then lost 3 cents in after-hours trading."With rising fuel prices, a softening economy and a downward trend on current and future market demand for full-size trucks, a significant adjustment was needed to align our production with market realities," GM North America President Troy Clarke said in a statement.For about the past three years, the U.S. auto market has been shifting from pickup trucks and SUVs to cars and crossover vehicles, but the trend picked up in recent months due to gas prices that have reached $3.60 per gallon, on average.GM expects the layoffs to begin July 14 at the Flint, Janesville and Pontiac plants, and Sept. 8 at Oshawa. Most of the factories had already seen layoffs and production cuts due to a parts shortage from a two-month strike at American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc.GM spokesman Tony Sapienza said the company will eliminate shifts with 750 workers each at Flint and Janesville, 1,150 workers in Pontiac, and 900 workers in Oshawa. Final numbers must be worked out with unions, he said.Laid-off workers will get unemployment benefits and supplemental pay that total 80 percent of their normal 40-hour gross pay, said GM spokesman Dan Flores.Greg Gardner, an analyst with the Oliver Wyman Group, said the cuts look like "a realistic assessment.""The full-size pickup and SUV market is not going to rebound anytime soon," he said. "It looks like that they don't plan on making up very much of the production loss due to the American Axle strike."Gardner said GM's announcement reflects the industry's overall production forecast this year, down to about 15 million light vehicles from an earlier forecast of 15.5 million.The Flint, Pontiac and Oshawa plants make the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups, while Janesville manufactures the Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban and GMC Yukon big SUVs.GM said it did not forecast how many of those vehicles it expected to make this year, but it sold about 1.1 million of them in the U.S. last year, according to Autodata Corp.GM said pickup sales overall are down 15 percent through March, while sales of large SUVs are off 26 percent.Jesse Toprak, chief industry analyst for the auto information site Edmunds.com, said GM has a 92-day average supply of large trucks. A 60-day supply is considered optimal in the business.Toprak said the automaker will lose about $4.4 billion in gross sales because of the production cuts, but it's nearly impossible to determine the impact on GM's net profits.The production cuts should help GM keep its inventory under control, said Catherine Madden, an analyst with the consulting firm Global Insight.The cuts come as 74,000 U.S. workers represented by the United Auto Workers face a May 22 deadline to decide on GM's latest round of buyout and early retirement offers.