General Motors realignment

[valve37]

Sad for all those affected in both Canada and the US. However this is free enterprise at work. 

Some of the interviews with line workers and union heads expressed that GM owes them to stay put and continue manufacturing cars that aren't selling and to allocate a new model to the Oshawa plant. In retrospect GM IMO owes workers nothing more than the pay they have received for every hour worked plus the benefits. Now the top union leaders in the US and Canada want to meet and discuss striking at all GM plants. If this happens does the word lockout have a meaning?    

[reallynicestamps]

Free enterprise at work?

"union heads expressed that GM owes them to stay put "?

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/loans-canada-account-finance-auto-sector-bailout-2009-gm-chrysler-1...

GM owes the Canadian taxpayer over a billion dollars.

Personally I'd be putting liens on the homes of every member of the Board of Directors, then start working my way down shareholders until the BILLION  dollars is paid off.

More seriously, when the plant actually is closed, it should be nationalized. The actual factory and all the machinery in it.

And no export permits for any attempts to remove the machinery. It should be seized too using liens.

I also saw suggestions that Magna and Tesla should be approached to take over the plant.

More likely would be some of the overseas companies already producing vehicles that actually sell. Honda and Toyota produce over 100,000 of the 150,000+ vehicles produced here.  They know the market.

[ypdc_dennis]

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-46350057

[reallynicestamps]

From the linked article:

The production cuts come as buyers in North America have turned away from smaller cars to bigger vehicles such as SUVs and trucks, which now make up nearly 70% of total US car purchases.

Yet 2/3 of Canadian-produced- and sold-  cars are smaller. Only the "american" companies are producing the SUVs and trucks.

Sorry I think the Rav3 is an SUV. But it is still one of the smaller ones.

The difference may be based on the low cost of gasoline in the USA. A low price that may go lower now that Saudi Arabia dropped their prices to bribe their way out of criticism of their actions re: Kashoggi and Yemen.