“Jackson” has been spewing this made up nonsense all over several of those blog and story comment areas-about the “dark” reputation GM Janesville and its workers have given the area. But what he doesn’t say is that he was summer help that could not get through one night at the plant. Come clean, Jackson. Do something to be proud of.

Labor has hardly any leverage when the company is loosing money. I feel for the auto workers. I grew up around the auto industry in Detroit. It's a rough industry to be in. You make good money, and have good benifits, but the reality is that it is a dying industry, and you can be out of a job in the blink of an eye.

hey jackson lets meet and i will show just how lazy i am as a gm worker!

I meet alot of people that work at GM, or have worked at GM. A few things always pop ups they must pass out pamplets on how to file bankrupt, they complain about how rough it is to place a screw in a hole, there children do not seem very motivated. Janesville would be better worth out GM, and there polution

Goodby GM workers, Goodby GM workers as a little boy stands near the entrance gate to the Janesville GM plant. Reminds me of a chapter of Shindlers list. Goodby, and get lost!

My thoughts and prayers to all those losing their jobs in Janesville. Unfortunately, the middle class takes the hardest hit when profits dwindle. Profits in any corporation are "the bottom line," which makes us all vulnerable to the same future. When is enough profit....ENOUGH? Corporate Executives continue to line their pockets with huge salaries, free healthcare, free cars that are fueled by corporate credit cards; some of the many perks of their position. I wonder how many of these individuals are taking a cut in salary or losing their job? Why have we given so much power to these people? Why can't they understand the devestation to the middle class? What a silly question! It's time to take back the integrity and strength of the middle class worker in this country.

Prounion:

You want to strike? This goes to show how out of touch yuo are with the situation. Tell mgt that you want to keep working? Consumers dont want the product you produce. What leverage do you have? Zero leverage.

Tell your freiends at American Axle thanks for forcing this layoff.

How many union officials were affected? Usually the union brass ends up smelling like a rose-I dont know if this s the case in Janesville -but it would not surprise me.

coast2coast:
I opened a few May calls the day the Gazette broke the story on Monday; as I figured it would spur the stock higher on guidance when they released their Q report today.
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The big boost up today was really just more of luck then my analysis. As the stock did not go up on the guidance, but in fact on losses that were not as high as analysts expected.
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Here is a great story by the NY Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/30/busine...
Everyone should really take the time to read it, as it really details GM's financial situation, and future plans, in depth.

What we need now is a good old fashion strike - let management know we want to keep working.

kiowa: I hope you played those calls! The stock is up like $3 today! Would have been nice if you would have posted that earlier in the day instead of at midnight!

Jackson, that is without a doubt the silliest comment I’ve seen made about GM and Janesville. GM=dark image? GM=lazy? Even the posters who commented on some GM drinkers, GM workers being overpaid, etc etc etc cannot begin to match your statement in ridiculousness. I can’t even call it exaggeration. It’s an out and out fabrication. I can’t even imagine where the “dark image” statement came from. Screeming meemies (sp?) or Janesville’s brush with the KKK or recent mobile home park murders couldn’t do it, but living in the same town with GM did? Amazing.
But I stand by your right to spew it.

Does it matter how much an employee gets paid? Seriously. If Burger King was announcing they were closing all of their Rock County locations, people would be on these threads berating them for not being smarter and going to school so they didn't have to "flip burgers" for a living. Bottom line is NO ONE should EVER be rejoicing when someone else has lost their job....regardless if they make $28/hour and pay minimal health insurance premiums or if they make $8/hour and have no health insurance. Lord help those out there who think they have job security and something like this could never happen to them.....unless you are a mortitian, there is no such thing as job security! And, to those who say GM will not make or break Janesville...tell that to Beloit and those who worked for Beloit Corp. GM may not matter to you, but it matters to the 1500+ UAW workers who will be without a job July 14th, if not sooner. Have some compassion and if you can't...then just zip it.

PS--Jackson--you may have grown up height wise in this area, but you still have a lot of growing up to do....

jackson: are you kidding me? You're a fool. Maybe you were too shy to tell people where you were from in fear they may contact City Hall and tell them they found their city's missing idiot. Good grief! Where do you work? Yeah. I hope they close! The maturity on these boards is absolutely astounding!

jackson---AMAZING ......JUST .....AMAZING.......PLEASE READ MY COMMENT ON "GM PUTS ON BRAKES"

I have grown up in this area, and was always shy about telling people where I was from because of the dark image GM works have give the City's name which is that our people from this area are LAZY! I hope they close, so pride can some day can be spoken.

Corporate America has stolen the American dream right out from under peoples noses! People's hopes and dreams are being ripped off by a bunch of free wheeling felons getting rich at the working man's expense. There is no loyalty in Corporate America anymore and no security. We live in unconventional times which calls for unconventional ways of doing things. There is hope! Believe me, I've found that out! Here's what has to happen; people have got to come to grips with the reality that the industrial age is dead. Outsourcing isn't going to change or slow down and the American worker is expendable. In the coming decade, America is expected to lose another 6 million "white collar" jobs to workers in India. Maybe even more! People deserve to know the truth as to what's going on and the truth is, the American people have been trading our freedom for security for years, and now it's coming to fruition. People (I'm including myself here!) need to wake up and start thinking outside the box! There is opportunity out there! It's just not where people are used to finding for the past 100 years! Those days are gone! I encourage everyone, to read a book titled: "Who Stole the American Dream II" by: Burke Hedges. If you don't want to get left behind and take advantage of the opportunity out there, ACT NOW! Do it for your families, your children, your communities. I am praying for everyone!
God's blessing to all!

GM is an AWFUL stock to hold long term. I seriously hope that no one has any major stake in this company. Over the past 5 years GM stock is down 40%. Over the last 10 years it is down 68.6%. Trust me when I say the only people who make $$$ on GM stock are your shorters, traders, and option players. If your a buy and hold investor (like many who have 401K's are) STAY AWAY from GM, and many of these old school "blue chip" companies. You'd be better off stuffing your money in the couch!
The recent layoffs by GM MAY help the stock in the short term. A few short term call options is a decent speculative play, IMO.

I don't understand Gov Doyle's choice to help GM workers with unemployment benefits. Why are the GM workers any more important that any other unemployed person in Rock County, or anywhere else for that matter. So, ok, the GM workers make a lot of money. People say no one would turn that down. They are right. But does that mean that they have to spend every penny of it and then some, living beyond their means? Why don't GM workers put some of that money in the bank for such a rainy day??

makes me glad i'm doing something in America, for Americans and with American dollars! that and i'm making a positive impact on lives... it's beautiful working for individuals with disabilities in their homes. i'm grateful it's a mile up the street so that i can walk or ride my bike!

praise God for making all of us to make the world go 'round!!

yeah, maybe Janesville will really feel the effects that Beloit has felt for soo many years!!

Practice what you preach wwr1961. The Confederate flag that you have hanging as a curtain in your living room was probably made in Pakistan. Thanks for at least not mentioning the legalization of pot in your comments this time.

1st of all it's hard to find anything made in the usa any more. 2nd, you will pay at least twice the price for the same thing.ie I bought a mr coffee maker at walmart 29.00,found the same identical one at shopko for 49.99. where is the logic to pay twicw the amount for the same item?

*sigh* I guess this means I'll be getting more "Buying foreign products costs American jobs" stickers on my Honda. Because, you know, stickering my car SURELY makes me think twice about what I buy! /sarcasm

I'm not sure about you folks, But I every time I buy something from anyplace (even beer any food) I consider where is made. I do this because I try to support my local economy and US economy as well. I know I alone wont change anything, but the next time you shop Think about were your money goes. and I wish people stop shopping Wal-mart for god sake. Try going to local places like Farm & Fleet. Bottom line is I as a American will pay more for something made is the USA to keep my money here than purchase something made over seas. Granted I;m aware that comptuers and other stuff like that will never be made here. But thats my 2cents

The American dream is coming down with oil leading the charge. Along with it is the middle class ! Even American companies dont buy American any more ! This is a sad day in America, not just where the laid off people are going to be. We all need to take a look around and realize we all had a hand in it.(made in China - made in Singapore - made in India)Look on the back of your computer / TV / Mirowave / last but not least your vehicles)We have some made here but, too much from everywher else.Lets spend our billions in America and not another foreign country !!!And dont forget to pay down your credit debt with the stimulus package. Be smart and buy a bicycle from TREK .

garyprimer....OSAMA is hiding from that hate monger racist rev. wright!

A good 8% of the "transportation manufacturing" employment figure has to be SSI Technologies, which sells to multiple manufacturers. That total of 4000 isn't ALL connected to GM or even just this plant.
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I did understand from one of the other articles that the layoffs are partly dependent on the May 22 cutoff for the buyouts.
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And yeah, if SUV sales continue to plummet, GM is going to have to consider closure or retooling. They simply don't own 50% of the US auto market as they once did.

Don't forget the trickle down effect:
workers at Lear, CTI ( or whatever they are calling it now)and others are going to loose their jobs too.
I'm so glad I got out of CTI when I did.
I hope everyone lands a good job.
This is the wrong time for some of these people to be laid off.

to quote from the article: "As long as the UAW strike against American Axle continues, the Janesville plant will not have enough parts to run two full shifts, she said. Until July, the plant will continue with its one-shift-on, one-shift-off production strategy. For example, second-shift workers are on the job this week while first-shifters are laid off.

If the American Axle strike settles before July, GM corporate officials will reconsider the production schedule in Janesville, Fanning said."
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Does this mean that if the AMM strike were to end tomorrow, the cuts could take affect much sooner?

garyprimer: LOL! I suspect he's showing North Carolina how much he "cares." Janesville and Wisconsin are just a distant memory in his "W" column.

Barrack Obama, where are you now?

that was very nice, Darius!

TO ALL GM/LEAR etc. EMPLOYEES,
I from the bottom of my heart wish you God's blessings at this very pivotal time. I was employed for GM for 10 years and decided to take the "buyout" a little over a year ago. I wouldn't have done it had I not learned that there are other UNBELIEVABLE opportunities out there to earn money. I can assure you, those opportunities are not in the factories or industry! I understand the impact that this is going to have on so many people and I've done enough homework and research to understand, it's not a short time deal here. Changes are going to take place more often than ever before and these changes are not geared to favor the working man/woman. I encourage you, open up your minds and at least find out what else is out there. In other words, dig that well before you get thirsty! I've met so many great people at GM and Lear who unfortunately are going to feel the impact of these changes that are taking place. I'm praying that people take matters into their own hands and make something happen outside of these businesses. Anyone not employed specifically with GM or Lear, this post is for you too! When it all gets broken down to the bare minimum, we're all one community trying to do what's best for our families. Take action now and don't wait for your fate to be decided by someone else. It's your difference to make! If I can do it, anyone can! I wish ALL OF YOU the very best! God bless!

sannio-TOO HIGH !! I can remember in the GOOD OLD DAYS $99.00 .It's sure beats FORD at $8.00

I wonder how long before the bars bring back-$2.00 quart nite.In the early 80's every bar in town made money with all the drink specials !! Lets not forget the soup lines at OLD 95 in the 70's.Maybe we will have chili lines at the union hall ! Don't forget to still give to United Way and the childrens fund,Echo etc.etc. and to all the GM haters out there what will you be losing ?? This WILL have a BIG affect on all :(

It's sad to see the economy heading in the direction it's going. The company I work for is not involved with the auto industry but we too are suffering from other companies that their sales are way down. If sales do not start going back up we too will also be seeing a lay off. One of the biggest companies we deal with out of Madison has just had their first lay off...ever. Over 300 people were let go.
It's really taking a toll on alot of people and I can just imagine the ones that are going to have to file bankruptcy during all of this. People used to making $800 - $1000 /wk are going to be taking home around $360 / wk. That is a huge drop and I too never make snide comments about how much GM workers get paid cause I too would want a job that paid that much and so wouldn't everyone else. This is a time where we are all going to start suffering and Janesville residents need to pull together for one another and I hope everyone can make it through all of this. I pray for everyone who will or is already affected by this. Hold you head up and look to the future.

Is there any truth to the rumor that gm is closing the doors next year?

I read this morning in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

“According to the payroll data from the Wisconsin Dept. of Workforce Development, Rock County, which includes Janesville had more then 4,100 employees at transportation equipment manufacturers earning an average of $1300. a week, or 84% more than the average wage for all industries state wide in September 2007, the latest information available”

If this is actually true, won’t there be allot of people being laid off that won’t be able to match that wage & standard of living in new industrial jobs in this state? I was never aware of these figures. I could never, and will never join in the “GM” Bashing” I see so often in these posts. Anyone who was offered this much money for an industrial job would be foolish to say no to it. My sympathies go out to these people, as well as my hope that many will soon see that living on the “State average” wages is possible with a few lifestyle changes. Talk to your neighbors and friends who do it successfully. Get some information and help.

Yeah, the price blows lately. I was hoping this layoff would raise the stock price so I could offload the crap!

GM stocks? $21.57 is too high for me. The whole market needs some serious downtime. I wish the Feds would quit messing with it!

Take a look at GM stock prices.