Supplier Layoffs Planned at Schaeffler, Continental as Economy Dies

Or do what Amrica did during the glory years of the '40s, 50s and '60s. Make the top rate of income tax 90% and redistribute the wealth to society at large. I need no lecturing on wealthy "nice people providing jobs". They managed when taxes were high, they could manage again. Given the chance and driven by greed, they got governments elected to power that cut their taxes. Everyone else? Not so much. Amateur repetition of conservative slogans such as the it never works trickle-down theory put about by the rich for the last 45 years seems to have been swallowed whole by an undiscriminating public, and now gets repeated as if it were some some sainted truth. Far from it. You don't need socialism to make a more equitable society, you just need common sense and the ability to read your own history and repeat what worked before. And the rich scream in terror!

And your pay cheque was probably made possible by the spending of the 'working and middle' classes, not by the rich. Any era that witnessed great income inequality/disparity was inevitably followed by a depression/recession or social unrest.

"you don’t enrich the poor by impoverishing the rich" No you do. It was done successfully in Soviet Union throughout the most part of XX century. Or in China.

@Inside Looking Out Well, you got me there.

Keep in mind that this is happening, or will be happening in Germany. Their economic system is a wee bit different than that of America, Mexico and Canada. There are no poor people in Germany! Most of Western Europe will insure that all of their population is provided for, and taken care of. If you want to see poor people, look around the US in cities where poor people urinate, defecate and live on the street, go through trash cans or look for a handout for food and nourishment. We've all seen it on TV in America. The people losing their jobs at Schaeffler, Continental, are only losing their jobs, not their housing, not their income, not their food. In all cases they will be better off than the homeless in America.

@highdesertcat Do you get over there very often @HDC? There are plenty of homeless people in the large Western European cities. If you need to catch an early flight out of Paris you will nearly trip over them around pretty much any Metro station. It isn't LA, but you don't have to look hard to see them.

@conundrum The problem with the 90 percent rate was that nobody paid it. With those high rates that looked great on paper came tons of loopholes. They managed those high rates by not paying them. I know the CEO (incidentally, he risked pretty much all he had to start the company) of my company and many of the C-Level folks. This myth that they are all just sponging off of their workforce and those same workers could do just as well is just that, a myth. could they do my job? No (well one could do it better than me, but he just sort of moved up the ladder). But that's why they pay me. Thing is, I couldn't do their job nor would I want to. They all put in way more hours than I do and generally work much harder at what I consider to be less satisfying work. That is why they make more than me. I can't imagine that the situation at most SUCCESSFUL companies is much different. They get paid alot because it is demanding work and the livelyhood of everyone at the company depends on them doing the job well. I don't envy them, but I do respect them and frankly, I learn from them and recognize that they are typically very smart people. You don't get there otherwise. interesting that when we talk about "The Rich" the ire always seems to be directed at the business rich. Yes, they do provide jobs and most of them work their kiesters off...well those rich, those in business. Now the non business rich...those in the Entertainment or Family Dynasties or those that miracously became rich in public service...The Kennedy's, The Bernie types, The Entertainment types. You know, the ones that may employ an inner circle but at the end of the day generate wealth by tweeting and doing the occasional film. Why do they get a pass? Cardi-B is worth 24 Million Dollars. That is more than many of these CEOs that we seem to want to tax to death that you don't want to be lectured about. If she was taxed away, very few would notice. If you taxed away the people starting companies that then grew them into large businesses employing many would that be the case?

Inside Looking Out Do yourself a favor and read Robert Conquest on the USSR. I'd suggest Stalin: Breaker of Nations.

@Art Vandelay Art, the last time we were there was 2016, and we stayed in Europe for ~6 months, spending time in Germany, Portugal, Holland, Italy and assorted two - three day trips elsewhere, driving our long-term rental minivan. I must have missed what you are referring to. We did see some panhandlers, but they were far from unkempt or destitute. We’ll be going to Israel for ~6 months as soon as the China-virus is defeated and I will be taking snapshots/pics of a lot of things while there. I did take some pics with my wife’s phone in San Diego (Balboa Park) and other places we visited since 2016 in the US, to show how bad the homeless and druggie situation is. I even got pics of turds on the sidewalk, and hypos in the street by the curb. Truly disgusting to see these things.

@chuckrs I’d like to recommend “The Soviet Crucible” to gain an in-depth perspective of how and why things have developed as they have since the 1918 Revolution. While the book deals with Kruschev’s decisions on how to expand the Soviet influence at that time, so much of what is going on today can be traced back directly to the faulty premises and empty promises that the Communist Manifesto offered.

@Art Vandelay If anything during my career I have learned that the higher you move up the organizational chart the easier things get. As a CEO/partner/Senior Executive golfing, attending charitable events/banquets and even trips overseas were considered to be 'work'. If you need time off for personal reasons, you don't need to provide an explanation or get permission. And you are still paid. You working conditions are pristine. Usually a large office. With A/C and expensive furnishings. Meanwhile the lowest paid workers have someone watching over them. Need permission to take any time and are not paid for it. Often don't have medical/dental/prescription coverage so may get sick more often. Often perform manual labour in an environment that is too hot/cold or crowded. Are exposed to workplace hazards. Many need to use public transit to get to and from work, during the most crowded times. For owner/operators of small businesses, I agree that their hours and risks are much higher and they deserve their remuneration/perks. However for the 'carpetbaggers' that we see moving from corporation to corporation as professional 'managers', they are grossly over compensated and quite often nearly superfluous. For example the many CEO's/Senor Executives who have run GM into the ground. Or Bob Nardelli briefly the CEO at Chrysler.

@Arthur Dailey And then there is the Peter Principle, where a person gets promoted beyond their abilities. Regrettably, there are a lot of living examples around, everywhere. However, I believe Ms Barra at GM is the ideal fit for GM at this time, in this political environment of Handouts, Bailouts and Nationalization. At least she is trying new approaches, where in the past her male predecessors kinda rolled over and got swamped by the deluge of negativity that was GM in those days. And.......she is responsive to input from the US President, fellow Americans. Germany? That is everyone’s guess these days.

@Arthur Dailey But we are not a small business @Arthur. We used to be, but because our CEO is good at his job, we grew into a midsized company. He has a very nice office which is good because he frequently uses it to meet with people that make our company grow and enlarge my retention bonus. I frequently work without AC and often follow Army units and equipment around in the field. I don't mind...he compensates me accordingly. We don't have a single employee that has to give any reason for personal time off...if you have no vacation time or sick time it is unpaid though but they provide long term disability should something bad happen. Yes, there are companies that bring in some of those "hired gun" type managers. They typically go bankrupt unless they are "too big to fail" though but most people in those roles in my experience again, work their tails off. The biggest entity I have been at and interacted with people at that level was Lowe's Home Improvement. Not GM sized, but a Fortune 50 Company. They worked more hours than I did. CEO's typically came up in the company so I don't share your experiences. I do share your view of Nardelli and GM management of late (Ford seems to do 2 bad ones and then bring in a miracle worker...a frustrating cycle for fans of their product). My CEO I am sure does a golf tournement from time to time...what do I care? The company is growing and it is a result of both his actions AND the competent workforce he has. We all do our job. It isn't adversarial. That is the case most places I've been with the exception of my time as a teacher (toxic) and the military because it just sort of is what it is. Bad CEO's, sure? But I don't think the situation you describe is the majority.

@highdesertcat It has gotten way worse. I believe my wife and I first noticed it in 2016 or 17 on a trip through Belgium and France. The last time she had been there was the late 90's. She noticed it in Paris right away. It was always in Italy. I lived there for 4 years. You saw it less in the touristy spots but Naples?! Everywhere and if you think US cities are dirty give that place a look. We don't really have any place that rivals it. Haven't seen it really get any better or worse in 20+ years though. London wasn't so bad as the rest of Europe, but I get there less. I will say, I assume many of them were a result of the middle Eastern migrant crisis., but the streets were much worse than when I started going there. And turds on the street in San Diego? I assume you missed Paris in your travels. I will say that is the only stereotype I find true about that place though...The French are warm and nice. I think the people that say otherwise haven't actually been.

@highdesertcat " I assume you missed Paris in your travels." Yes, we did. Zero interest. Drove from the Ramstein AB area to Zeist, the Netherlands, by way of Arnhem. Stayed a couple of days in Zeist and Den Dolder, then South through Belgium, France and Spain, directly to my dad's ancestral home in Portugal, where I still have family today. So, it's been a few years ago I was in Europe and we spent the time since with extended stays in Vancouver, BC, Canada, and Ensenada, Baja California, Old Mexico, where we share property with three of my brothers. Once we sell our house in the desert, and after the China-virus is defeated, we'll hit the travel circuit again. We mailed off six boxes of old clothing to Israel yesterday for our anticipated stay with my sister and her (Jewish) husband there, at a small Kibbutz outside of Tel Aviv.

@Art Vandelay "Cardi-B is worth 24 Million Dollars. That is more than many of these CEOs that we seem to want to tax to death that you don’t want to be lectured about" Those executives we want to tax to death are getting that much in a year. A friend of mine got $60 million in a year. I have neighbors that have had $20 million+ bonuses. I travel in those circles. You know how those people party? Try things like hiring Lenny Kravitz to play your company Christmas Party. How about hiring Paul McCartney for a birthday party with James Cordon as the MC. One friend even hired Elton John for his anniversary party. Granted, these people do give away craploads of money to charities, but they are still bringing in unimaginable loads of cash in pay. BTW, I was at every one of those parties :^) so it's first-hand information. Here are some CEO salaries: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2020/05/19/50-highest-paid-ceos-in-2019/111783524/

@chuckrs It is a WP.

@ArtV: I am glad that you mentioned Lowes because of course Nardelli was CEO of the Home Depot prior to being ousted. Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank who started it were model executives. They brought Nardelli in from GE and eventually he faced a mutiny among shareholders and staff. Yet he still got re-hired as a CEO, at Chrysler. We have seen this often in the retail sector, particularly in Canada. The same executive team running a company into insolvency and then getting rehired elsewhere. And like Nardelli almost always able to collect their bonuses. Nortel was a Canadian success story for decades. Eventually run into bankruptcy. Yet while it was going down, a senior executive was building a custom mansion/estate on the shores of Lake Ontario. The same executives who helped 'mismanage' this company received 'retention bonuses' for staying around to close the door and turn off the lights. Unfortunately the pension was underfunded to the tune of $1.5 billion. Meanwhile after all the assets were liquidated it was discovered that the assets including patents, more than offset the corporate debts.