Nissan Offers Buyouts, Fends Off UAW
Transplant firms pride themselves on running NA operations differently than the D2.8, but the body-on-frame tailspin has no interest in pride or strategy. Automotive News [sub] reports that Nissan, which has never laid off a North American worker, will buy out about 1200 employees from its Tennessee plants. Workers at Smyrna Assembly and the Decherd powertrain plant will be offered up to $125k to leave over the next three years, saving Nissan 18 percent of its TN payroll and shutting the night truck production shift. By Detroit standards, this measure is almost not worth reporting on. But for Nissan and its employees, the stakes are considerably higher. At least that's what the UAW wants us to think; they're playing the told-ya-so card to Nissan's worried Tennessee employees with more than a little schadenfreude. "As a union member, contractually, I know what my rights are," says Mike O'Rourke, whose UAW Local 1853 has twice failed to unionize Smyrna. "Unfortunately, at Nissan, they don't know what the bottom is. And they're afraid… In their employee meeting, one of the employees said, 'If we don't go, are you going to reduce our wages?' And management wouldn't answer," says the UAW honcho. "I think you and I both know the answer to that question." Except that, absent any actual examples of transplants screwing workers, the evidence points rather away from O'Rourke's scaremongering suggestion. For example, rather than abandon or otherwise its employees at Tundra/Sequoia plants, Toyota is keeping employees busy (and paid) by training them and improving operations. While UAW shops are cut and shut left and right. Funny how that works.
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Quote: For example, rather than abandon or otherwise its employees at Tundra/Sequoia plants, Toyota is keeping employees busy (and paid) by training them and improving operations. While UAW shops are cut and shut left and right. Funny how that works. The situation is not exactly analagous. UAW shops being cut are also the result of the Detroit makers having WAY too much capacity. For example, just two years ago when Ford started seriously shutting plants, they had capacity to build 3.4 million in the U.S. and the labor to support that and more. With some production in Canada in Mexico and total FLM sales of 2.46 million last year, Ford had to ditch a lot of their labor force. Ditto GM and Chrysler. Toyota's only real glut of capacity is at the San Antonio plant and the Indiana plant (where it just so happens trucks are made). Everywhere else is relatively balanced or running on all cylinders. So, in the short run, it makes sense to hold the workers and see if demand recovers enough to justify their existence. If, however, Toyota's sales drop more significantly than expected for a protracted period, you can bet everyone of those workers will be looking for new jobs. Most Detroit factories are at this point as well, the biggest exception being GM's network which can still shed a factory or two (hence the announcements of their closing). Any additional buyouts that they are looking for are to hit the two-tier wage levels in the short term. Ford's current buyout offers aren't targeted to pull capacity in the long-run, but to allow hiring of lower tier wage earnings in the near future. However, you can bet that if sales don't increase, they won't be hiring anyone. Importantly - and this is a change from the past - UAW-driven companies like Ford are actually using their unproductive truck/SUV workers to add third shifts at car plants. In Ford's case, Wayne and Kansas City where the Focus and Escape are made. GM is trying to make similar moves with its factories. (Chrysler? - who knows) The workers go through training and start helping with production where demand is outstripping supply. Again, credit where credit is due. And truth where it can be found, please.
Those greedy non-union people. If I were to get laid off, Im sure I wouldn't be seeing $125K.
Unions were the death of the motoring industry in the UK. During a financial downturn some harsh decisions must be made and to bury your head in the sand as most union officials do is a recipe for disaster
Strange the cars made in Japan and Germany are made by unionized workers. Maybe it was the bad decisions made by management in England as well as the US that led to their decline.