zlacker

As a libertarian immigrant, I don't care for unions. Please no Ayn Rand jokes, I can't stand her.

So while the unions are certainly a big part of the problem, the responsibility is ultimately with management. It is ALWAYS management's fault.

It doesn't matter if it is GM or a start up, it's management. If you are considering going to work for a startup, the management should be the most important factor in your decision.

GM's management could have changed the company culture to be as efficient and productive as Toyota's. It's not like Toyota made a secret of how it works.

GM could have seen the decline of proven and easy to access oil reserves, and the rise of the middle class in the BRIC countries and done the math. They are in the car business, so they ought to have seen what's coming.

But no, crap giant gas guzzlers. The unions didn't do that, it was management.

>>biohac+(OP)
I think the stupid SUV's are the only thing that kept GM around this long. They probably would have died years ago if they never came up with them (the damn things are pure profit).

As for Toyota-style management? It's difficult to do with strong, uncooperative unions. Want to replace 100 workers by robots? Not happening. Want to give workers decision making power, tempered by accountability for their decisions? The union demands more money for the decisions, and thinks that "accountability" means "talk to the steward."

There is a reason Toyota builds factories in Kentucky instead of Detroit.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/04/business/04uaw.html?_r=1&#...

I'm not saying GM made no mistakes, but unions did play a huge role.

>>biohac+(OP)
GM didn't buy their own SUV's, Americans did. So while we're all quick to blame GM for cashing in on SUV's we all did the dance with GM in the 90's which got them drunk with success and profit.

That being said (and to counter my own point), the first Toyota Prius came out in 1997, and I don't think I need to tell everyone what gas cost then.

>>biohac+(OP)
"So while the unions are certainly a big part of the problem, the responsibility is ultimately with management. It is ALWAYS management's fault."

That is silly. The capital markets are structured in a way that incentivizes short term returns to the detriment of long term growth. Everyone saw this coming. No one cared.

Whether this is a bad thing or a tolerable thing is an open question. What are the consequences of the death of the American auto industry? The management, employees and investors thrived for decades after this deal was made. It was not secret, so investors were able to price auto industry assets fairly over time. Now, pensioners effectively own a good chunk of the company so they will do just fine. There are no big losers.

Except the people of Detroit. The people of Detroit suffered to be sure. It may have been wise for the City of Detroit to acquire a sizable fraction of the companies so it could have a voice in long term planning. It may also have been wise for the city to actively encourage diversification.

It is not reasonable to expect leading companies to retain their position for centuries. Companies are simply machines that output wealth from humans and material. Machines, as a rule, grow obsolete.