WHY GM will blow up...

Quote from zf trader:

This idea my sound a little funny at first but hear me out. One of the problems that GM has is that they employ a lot of people that they don't need anymore but can't fire. So why can't they have them do something other than make cars? There is no way that the union contract says "must be employed to make automobiles". Any sort of positive return on all the un-used labour would help pay for pensions.
(Screw Ichan short the stock)
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Yes the union does specify what a person can or can not do. If they are union electricians you cannot have them cleaning floors, etc. If they are supposed to build cars, you can cross train them for other car building tasks, but you cant have them do building maintenence or selling cars.

We set up a large system in Manhatten. Pretty tough unions in manhatten. We needed another shelf put up. They had to get the carpenters union in there and it would take a few days. The materials were there, and I wanted to finish up so I tried to start making the shelf. I was told to put down the tools, because the carpenters union HAS to build the shelf.

The carpenter finally came and built the shelf. He did not paint it to match the other shelves. There was paint there, but they told me that the painters union had to paint the shelf. By this point I thought they were kidding me but the building manager said that if they let non-union labor do any work, the unions will set up picket lines in front of their buildings until they pay the unions for the work that was done, even if the union did not perform any of the work.

Unions are killing this country. Maybe there was a time and place for them, but that time has passed.
 
Quote from zf trader:

This idea my sound a little funny at first but hear me out. One of the problems that GM has is that they employ a lot of people that they don't need anymore but can't fire. So why can't they have them do something other than make cars? There is no way that the union contract says "must be employed to make automobiles". Any sort of positive return on all the un-used labour would help pay for pensions.
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Yep, we probably read the same recent story
http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosinsider/0510/17/A01-351179.htm

Jobs bank programs -- 12,000 paid not to work

Ken Pool is making good money. On weekdays, he shows up at 7 a.m. at Ford Motor Co.'s Michigan Truck Plant in Wayne, signs in, and then starts working -- on a crossword puzzle. Pool hates the monotony, but the pay is good: more than $31 an hour, plus benefits.

"We just go in and play crossword puzzles, watch videos that someone brings in or read the newspaper," he says. "Otherwise, I've just sat."

Pool is one of more than 12,000 American autoworkers who, instead of installing windshields or bending sheet metal, spend their days counting the hours in a jobs bank set up by Detroit automakers and Delphi Corp. as part of an extraordinary job security agreement with the United Auto Workers union.

The jobs bank programs were the price the industry paid in the 1980s to win UAW support for controversial efforts to boost productivity through increased automation and more flexible manufacturing.

As part of its restructuring under bankruptcy, Delphi is actively pressing the union to give up the program.

With Wall Street wondering how automakers can afford to pay thousands of workers to do nothing as their market share withers, the union is likely to hear a similar message from the Big Three when their contracts with the UAW expire in 2007 -- if not sooner.

"It's an albatross around their necks," said Steven Szakaly, an economist with the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor. "It's a huge number of workers doing nothing. That has a very large effect on their future earnings outlook."

...
 
If this report is accurate, it looks like GM might be in for a parts shortage. I can't see Delphi working this out. The gap seems too wide. Another blow to GM.

...
Labor leaders said bankrupt auto parts maker Delphi Corp. (Other OTC:DPHIQ - news) demanded 24,000 hourly job cuts over three years, a plan which union leaders refuse to even submit to the company's workers for a vote, the Detroit Free Press reported on Thursday.

The newspaper said the job cuts -- which would eliminate about two-thirds of Delphi's union workers -- would be coupled with steep wage cuts under the company's plan, which greatly increases the chances of a strike by the
United Auto Workers and other unions.

...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051117...IyyBhIF;_ylu=X3oDMTA5aHJvMDdwBHNlYwN5bmNhdA--
 
Out at 22.40, or still in?

My plan is to close my long 6jan20 puts in December; looking for ~$4. I plan to float my short 6jan17.50 puts and will close them only if I can do it for nickles or dimes. If I let my short puts ride, I will short the stock if the puts go ITM at 17 and stop it at 17.50.

Looking for for an extra happy holiday this season :)

My cost basis is $55/contract, looking to close at ~400/contract.
 
( DJ ) 11/17 03:47PM =DJ GM CEO Seeks To Kill Bankruptcy Talk In Note To Employees
By John D. Stoll
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

DETROIT (Dow Jones)--General Motors Corp. (GM) Chairman and Chief Executive
Rick Wagoner sent a letter to employees Thursday intended to answer
speculation concerning the company's need to file for bankruptcy protection.
The letter was sent to employees as part of the company's "GM Leads" series
of memos that periodically are distributed throughout the work force from
various leaders in the company, GM spokeswoman Toni Simonetti said. She said
the No.1 auto maker has no intention of filing bankruptcy, although it
acknowledges its need "to correct" the current financial situation.
Shares of GM shot up 7% to $22.77 following the news of the chairman's note.
The stock was trading as low as $20.60 on Thursday morning, the lowest
intraday point since October 1987.
GM is not releasing the document because Wagoner "intended it to for
distribution to employees," Simonetti said.
"The reason the letter was sent out was because of the preponderance of
speculation by media and analysts concerning a bankruptcy at GM," the
spokeswoman said. She said Wagoner is working in the best interests of the
auto maker's vast constituency, including bondholders, shareholders, dealers,
customers and employees.
"One thing we won't do is file for bankruptcy," Simonetti said, reiterating
the chairman's note.
Wagoner's letter comes at a time when the executive's job security is coming
under intense scrutiny. Simonetti disputed various media reports suggesting
Wagoner is mismanaging the company or that his job is in jeopardy.
Wagoner told employees that the company has to address its problems in North
America, which include falling market share, high labor and benefit costs and
a manufacturing footprint that is larger than needed. Wagoner acknowledged
that GM's current financial performance, including a $1.6 billion loss in the
third quarter alone, "is unacceptable," Simonetti said.
Wagoner's note hits employees' desks and inboxes at a time when the
company's share price is under severe pressure for several reasons, including
speculation over a strike at top supplier Delphi Corp. (DPHIQ) due to an
inability of its unions to reach a labor agreement with management. A work
stoppage would be devastating given the large supply of auto parts GM buys
from the bankrupt supplier.
The company is also involved in an investigation by the Securities and
Exchange Commission concerning pension and reinsurance accounting practices.
There is growing fear that the company may be underestimating its massive
pension obligations. Simonetti said the company's reporting is in line with
what is required under generally accepted accounting principles and by the
SEC.
-By John D. Stoll, Dow Jones Newswires; 313-226-1249;
john.stoll@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires
11-17-05 1547ET
Copyright (c) 2005 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
 
The CEO of GM is dumber than I thought. However, not as dumb as the dumb money who pumped the stock up another $1 billion in market cap.

May their shares delist at zero.
 
It's all about earnings.

Not only does the Union effect things at GM, but also product and traffic flow in the showrooms. I don't see this Red Tag Sale doing anything positive for GM except moving product at a larger discount. I think today's rally was for the suckers. I expect it to drop further. All of the billions of cash reserves means little with Delphi probably going to strike in December and losses mounting.

With several more quarters of harder losses, this stock could easily meet Ford's price of 7.7 a share next year. It's a shame...
 
Quote from MacroEvent:

the only car that is decent at GM is the Z06, all their other products just can't generate the "reasoning" for increasing sales --- even the CTS-V has a hideous interior.

if your cars do not generate excitement and a good "reasoning" for purchase then your company is toast!


and the three bears commercials with the H1, H2, and H3 are STUPID!!! :D
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The only thing generating excitement these days is MPG. Economy cars replaced the Hummer in the coolness factor. As far as economy goes I'm not really impressed with any company. Our present best choices are to get a little car that gets 35-50 MPG or a full size sedan like a 2006 Impala that gets 31 MPG, not a whole lot less than those puddle jumpers. Why does a full size GM get such high MPG when no one is able to get much more than this in a car 1/3 the size?
 
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