Cutting Costs: GM Bans Unscheduled Overtime

General Motors Corp. has told local union officials at two factories that make its hotter-selling small and midsize cars that it will not allow any more unscheduled overtime, a move seen as a way to further cut costs.

GM is burning through about $1 billion in cash per month and has promised to raise $10 billion through cost cuts and another $5 billion through asset sales and borrowing as it tries to outlast a U.S. auto sales slump that could run into 2010.

Union officials at factories in Orion Township, Mich., which makes the Chevrolet Malibu and Pontiac G6 midsize cars, and Lordstown, Ohio, where GM makes the Chevrolet Cobalt and Pontiac G5, each said they were told of the overtime ban Friday.

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dumpsty - 10/20/2008 7:13:49 PM

+2 Boost

Finally. I hate to hear people think overtime is promised/expected. where i work, when you have to work o/t, you usually don't want to be there.

Wazz - 10/21/2008 2:51:29 AM

+1 Boost

Overtime is fine for people who actually do their work and need more time to get something done but a lot of people stuff around during normal working hours and work overtime for even more pay, I hate it! You don't need a smoke break every 30 minutes, get back to work!

holmstar - 10/21/2008 10:30:08 AM

+1 Boost

amazinBimmer: while I agree with the general idea of what you said, I disagree with the way you said it. There's no need to be an a$$h0le.

dumpsty - 10/21/2008 1:32:37 PM

+1 Boost

I don't think the assembly line workers are ripping anyone off. when a facility has o/t, they tend to keep up with or move ahead of demand.

I just disagree with the union members' perception that o/t is apart of their annual salary requirements. You'd hear a union member say, "Hey, I make $60k/yr....with o/t", but then you ask them if they didn't work any o/t they be making $15-20k less a year.

Working o/t consistently to a point where they believed that they SHOULD work 60hrs/week is the ridiculous part. Most of these "line workers" see their o/t pay as REGULAR pay, not something extra. And they depend on their o/t pay to cover their regular daily/annual expenses.

holmstar - 10/21/2008 10:34:53 AM

+1 Boost

I guess being stick skinny (I should know, I was 166 and 5'11 in high school before I grew any muscles) doesn't prevent you from being a total d1ck.

91z4me - 10/21/2008 10:47:17 AM

+1 Boost

I am being serious for a moment. Comments like this should not be tolerated on any website that wants to be taken seriously. Unless this place is just a home for trolls the moderators/operators of Autospies needs to ban people like amazinBimmer. He contributes NOTHING to any thread other than praising BMW and talking down about Americans.

He needs to be BANNED NOW!

0to60 - 10/21/2008 11:08:51 AM

+1 Boost

So amazingbimmer, that would just leave "stupid AND an underachiever." Such harsh words to say about yourself. I wont disagree however...

BANONE - 10/22/2008 7:57:31 AM

+1 Boost

amazinBimmer, wasn't that you I passed the other day in my American car. While you were waiting for a bus? If your car is so great why are you not out driving it, rather then adding nothing to these comments. Guys like you kill me who hide behind these names that you think are "cool", and most likely made up for yourself. These was a great post. Made by an American, in America, with a great American mind.

Shredmo - 10/21/2008 11:13:22 AM

+1 Boost

How many people commenting here have worked on a union assembly line?

Shredmo - 10/21/2008 12:15:14 PM

+1 Boost

Make no mistake, I am not sympathizing with tunion employees, though I have a hard time believing these people are taking smoke breaks every 30 minutes.

While in college, I worked over the summer at a tractor manufacturing plant on the assembly line. There were no breaks whenever you wanted them. You worked until the scheduled break time. You were not allowed to leave your work area for anything except the restroom. If the line shut down temporarily due to a problem, you remained in your work area. You were not allowed extra overtime when you wanted it, rather you were required to work overtime when they needed you. You would find out two days in advance what each day's schedule would be.

Working the system appears in both union and non-union work settings, trust me. I currently work a non-union position, but have union employees working under me. This is a non-asembly line manufacturing company, so it is irrelevant to this topic.