posted 01-05-2006 09:15 PM         

General Motors Corp. will lay off about 500 contract employees, many of them engineers and designers at its technical center in Warren, on Friday as part of the automaker's effort to downsize its money-losing North American operations.

"This is a very challenging time, and these are very difficult decisions for the company," said GM spokesman Robert Herta. "It's all about aligning the work force with our business needs."

GM said the cuts are part of a previously announced plan to reduce its U.S. white collar work force by 7 percent in 2006. The reduction affects both direct GM and contract employees.

Many of the engineers whose jobs are being eliminated have already been contacted by the contractors that employ them.

Several said they were struck by the magnitude of the cuts, noting that GM has steadily eliminated contract jobs but in smaller numbers, 10 or 20 at a time.

The job losses darken the already grim employment outlook for Michigan, which is expected to lose jobs for a sixth straight year in 2006 despite the national economy's resilience. In the past year and a half, the state has lost more than 15,000 professional and business services jobs, a category that includes engineers and designers.

But the move also signals that GM is moving quickly to slash its costs in North America, where it lost $4.8 billion in the first three quarters of 2005.

Since 2000, the automaker has reduced its U.S. salaried and contract employee headcount by 32 percent, averaging annual reductions of around 5.5 percent a year.

In November, Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner announced a restructuring plan entailing the closure of four assembly and six component plants and the downsizing of other facilities. In all, 30,000 blue-collar jobs will be eliminated by 2008.

The plan called for a steeper 7 percent cut in the ranks of U.S. salaried and contract workers. The company also has cut certain benefits for salaried workers.

In GM's effort to recover profitability in North America, where it is losing ground to Asian rivals unencumbered by huge legacy costs, the U.S. automaker is trying to make better use of its global operations and eliminate duplication of activities.

But for GM contract workers like Danielle Manzella, 30, who is losing her job as an interior components designer in Warren, the news is devastating.

Manzella, who is employed by MSX International, learned this week that she would not only lose her job on Friday but also the health insurance that covers her, her husband and 18-month-old toddler.

"I got a phone call last night, and they said my services will no longer be needed. Friday is my last day," said Manzella, who spent 6 1/2 years working at GM. "The cuts are big. There were 20 people in my row, and only four of them are staying. I'm young, so I'll be OK. But I wonder about the 56-year-old who sits next to me. We weren't expecting it."

One of her colleagues, D'Ann Munro, has been working at GM for 10 years through her company, the staffing agency Aerotek.

"You work here for so long, and you make the cut so many times that you think you're OK," Munro said. "So this is tough."

posted 01-06-2006 07:29 AM         

I am very fortunate, blessed, lucky--choose the word--as I finally got 20 years in last year & plan retiring in less than 1 year...so I don't hafta worry, but I am old...I'm glad to be where I am in THIS day & age. Steady Employment has become a worrisome thing. No longer is it totally based on either longevity OR work accomplishment! Ground rules change continually! How will it all end? Sadly, I dunno!

posted 01-06-2006 06:35 PM         

quote:

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Originally posted by Snoman:
When I have a bad year I'm the 1st to take a pay cut!
How many CEO'S and President's in corporate America do that?

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Economic correction. I worked union 3 years out of my life. Not one person I worked with was concerned about quality. But they all felt they deserved more pay and benefits. At lunchtime people would race out the door to the local bar two blocks away where the beer was on the bar and waiting. Most had a bottle in their toolboxes.

We had places to sleep during our shift, got free machine work, electroplating, teflon coating and on and on.

Yeah, I can't understand why a CEO that works 16 hours a day to get where he's at in the world won't take a pay cut for the poor souls that work 40 hours and go home without a worry in the world.

Go figure.

posted 01-07-2006 01:24 PM         

quote:

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Originally posted by MDProwler:
Economic correction. I worked union 3 years out of my life. Not one person I worked with was concerned about quality. But they all felt they deserved more pay and benefits. At lunchtime people would race out the door to the local bar two blocks away where the beer was on the bar and waiting. Most had a bottle in their toolboxes.

We had places to sleep during our shift, got free machine work, electroplating, teflon coating and on and on.

Yeah, I can't understand why a CEO that works 16 hours a day to get where he's at in the world won't take a pay cut for the poor souls that work 40 hours and go home without a worry in the world.

Go figure.

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posted 01-07-2006 03:13 PM         

quote:

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Originally posted by meancat:
Would the last person out of Michigan please turn off the light's?

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Jerry - that might be Kim and you

Nawwww,,,,they ain't leaving Detroit,,,the welfare handouts are too good to go anywhere else

posted 01-08-2006 03:17 PM         

quote:

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Originally posted by halicat:
rumor has it that Ford is going to close 10 plants and layoff 30,000....
they say the announcement will be Jan 23rd...

Just rumor now...

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posted 01-08-2006 05:45 PM         

"america is closed--go back home"
pass it around

posted 01-08-2006 07:48 PM         

What's with all this crap going on in the government?

posted 01-08-2006 08:33 PM         

IT'S HARD TO FEEL SORRY FOR A COMPANY THAT MAKES A POOR QUALITY PRODUCT AND THAN WILL NOT STAND BEHIND WHAT THEY MAKE.