so.....how good is this economy
GM to Slice 30,000 Jobs, Shut or Cut 12 Plants
No. 1 Automaker Struggles To Maintain Market Position
By Sholnn Freeman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 22, 2005; Page A01
General Motors Corp. said it will eliminate 30,000 jobs and close all or part of 12 facilities as the automaker confronts the biggest threat to its survival since the onslaught of Japanese rivals led to a vast overhaul in the early 1990s.
GM has made strides since then, improving vehicle quality and making plants more flexible and efficient. But GM's rivals have stepped up, too, placing the No. 1 automaker in the painful position of shrinking again and possibly losing its spot as the world's largest automaker to Toyota Motor Corp.
A worker walks down the assembly line at the General Motors Assembly Plant in Doraville, Ga. The company will eliminate 30,000 manufacturing jobs and close nine North American plants by 2008. (John Bazemore - AP)
Planned Closings Stun GM Employees
Twenty minutes before yesterday's announcement that General Motors Corp. would cut 30,000 jobs and shut down all or part of 12 facilities, Chris "Tiny" Sherwood heard that his beloved Lansing, Mich., plant would be among the ones closed
As part of the latest overhaul, GM will reduce its annual North American manufacturing capacity to 4.2 million vehicles by 2008, down from 6 million vehicles in 2002, a 30 percent reduction.
Yesterday's announcement adds 5,000 job cuts to the 25,000 the company promised in June, lowering GM's workforce to about 100,000 by the time the reductions are completed in 2008.