General Motors is planning to axe 10,000 jobs in its European division, following its shock decision yesterday to abandon its sell-off of the company to parts giant Magna.
Group vice-president John Smith said that the job losses would be part of a push to trim GM Europe's costs by up to 30 per cent. But workers at the group's largest European manufacturer, Opel, have voted to strike in protest at GM's last-minute U-turn.
The announcement is likely to halt the euphoria of UK workers and unions, who greeted yesterday's change of heart on the deal as a life-saver for factories in Luton and Ellesmere Port.
Smith added that GM still hopes to secure government backing in the countries where its European car plants are based. He also attempted to explain the reasoning behind the firm's change of position.
"Try as we might to fashion a deal with Magna and Sberbank that would retain a close tie with General Motors over time, there was really no guarantee that would be the outcome and that sort of leaves potentially a pretty big strategic hole for General Motors to deal with," he said.
"It was a coin toss in August, it was a coin toss in September and a coin toss of a kind in November and all along the way I think our board was acquiring a better understanding of the business," he added.
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Re: GM 'to axe 10,000 jobs in Europe'
Yes, Woodley's euphoria yesterday seemed bizarre. They went from having a reasonable agreed position on the table to no agreed position as far as we can tell. Looks rather unprofessional to be honest.
Re: GM 'to axe 10,000 jobs in Europe'
Ha bloody ha. Can some enterprising journalist from ACar ring up Unite union's plush London HQ and ask to speak to Woodley, to get his view on this turn of events? Is he still delighted that GM have decided to keep Vauxhall? What a prat he is.
Let's remind ourselves that after first suggesting 1,300 jobs would go out of the ~5,000 at Vauxhall's under Magna's ownership, Magna and the unions agreed on only 600 jobs to go, or just over 10% of the workforce. Now we have the clown Smith of GM looking for a 30% reduction in costs, equivalent to as many as 15,000 of the current ~50,000 GM Europe workforce. Unless GM can force through all or the vast majority of these job losses in Germany UK and Vauxhall look to lose way more than 600 bodies, possibly as many as 1,500, more than Magna first planned and roughly the same as Fiat wished to cut in their disastrous 'project football' plan.
What an own goal for the scouse half-wit Woodley, the Mersey Gobshite. Should have taken Magna's offer Woodley and dealt with real car man like Siegfried Wolf and Frank Stronach not clowns who know jackshit about the industry like the tosser Smith and the Texan telephone twit Whitacre(Chairman of GM's board), who overruled Fritz Henderson(GM's CEO) and pulled the Magna deal.
Re: GM 'to axe 10,000 jobs in Europe'
Jesus that Smith is one sorry individual. Wonder whose nephew he is? Can't have got to VP on merit.
As to tossing coins, this should be added to the exec only lifts to the car park in GM's HQ and the total lack of an accounting system in the litany of shame that is 'GM'. Just confirms what anyone with a brain, and whose job doesn't rely on the corporate media knew, that is, GM's management were and are a bunch of tossers.