Just as curious to me is the treatment of Wagoner in comparison to other executives. Last week we found out about bonuses for those working for AIG, reasoning that contracts established could not be broken. How is it that the executive from one industry is forced to step down while another is financially rewarded? Both industries have been "bailed out" with banking/AIG receiving far more than automakers. How are some executives retained, while others are sent packing?
Inconsistent behaviors are not transparent, somewhere along the line, I thought that is what we were promised.
"Granted, GM has not innovated. Granted, the American auto makers need a shake up and need to innovate. "
ReplyDeleteWhat do you mean? Please expand. GM invented the single most important piece of equipment for clean air, you should know GM invented the catalytic converter. Oh and they pioneered safety with the installation of the first modern air bag, not the first but the first modern air bag. They have OnStar, arguably one of the safest features on a recent car. Not to mention their quality rivals and surpasses many of the imports. As you have heard Buick is tops. But back to innovation, how about foreign market innovation and investment? They single handedly spearheaded the Chinese auto market, which by the way is set to surpass the US auto market. Buick is the most revered brand in Asia. Rick Wagoner hired Bob Lutz, he has been the most influential behind the scenes underated leader of the global auto industry. While I agree Rick is not an "AX-MAN" which is what they need now, he was working for $1/year. And don't get me started on people who are heading up failing ships. Take one look at the US Government, you want to talk Golden Parachutes, they have to work how many years to get a portion of their pay guaranteed? I know I've heard numbers as few as 2 or 4, but I don't have time to look that up. And how long do they have to serve to get a full pension and healthcare? Yes 11 years I believe. So who is really grossely over paid? Who is really innovative? Because I would hardly say socializing retirement, schools, banks, the mortgage industry and now the auto industry, and COMING SOON the healthcare industry are innovative. Not that you would though...
By innovate, I'm speaking of competition. They used to dominate the market share (60 percent of vehicles sold I read somewhere) and made billions. Now they don't hold the same position as an automaker and have posted considerable losses.
ReplyDeleteIt boils down to dollars and cents, they haven't made money - the top priority of any business. Blame bad contracts, blame health care costs, blame retirement benefits. I'll concede that 30 years from now, Toyota may have similar problems when they have retirees. For now, GM may have the catalytic converter (not sure when the invention happened, but it wasn't that recent) and OnStar, but they also have had to ask the government for money.