Friday, Dec 12, 2008
This gets worse by the minute
Telegraph: US car bail-out: General Motors calls for UK Government rescue
General Motors, which employs 5,500 people around the UK, is in talks with the British government to secure cash to allow it to continue operating in what the car maker admits are "critical" conditions.
Posted by mountain goat @ 01:19 PM (1309 views) Add Comment
24 Comments
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1. paul said...
This is commercial blackmail of the UK government, nothing less. Heads we win, tails you lose.
2. drewster said...
It's a global arms race, but this time with car bailouts. Whichever country can keep bailing out its car companies the longest, wins the prize of having a functional car industry at the end of the race.
3. Adrian said...
If they were even going to consider this, they would need to make GM move more of its operations over to this country and bring more jobs to the UK. Personally I would have prefered they bailed out Woolworths than GM. Would have been cheaper and saved more jobs and Pick'n'mix.
4. Amos said...
Governments are now operating as banks.
5. stillthinking said...
How can we bail out GM but not assist Toyota? Bit much for the Japanese manufacturers.
6. renting2 said...
Better call it British GMLand, but I don't remember the last lot being overly functional.
7. need-a-crash said...
After the US Congress voted against a bail-out for GM you can be sure Crash Gordon will simply hand-over OUR money without any vote in parliament, such is the state of democracy in this country!
8. jack c said...
Part of the problem is that if they let them go under (particularly in the US) the knock on effect into other associated industries is so big the economy will potentially implode (many acknowleged this in the Senate).
9. Albimac said...
Anyone remember what happened to Rover? EU rules will not allow subsidies, or am i mistaken ?
10. str 2007 said...
I think it needs a different thought process not just a bailout.
There will be planty of 'good' businesses requiring assistance over the coming months/years.
GM and Ford are not good businesses. They needed bailouts in the good times never mind bad.
However their skills and equipment to create lots of folded and curved items of different materials all fitted together (roughly) shouldn't be overlooked.
They have a perfectly viable skills base - they're just making the wrong things.
I think 'bailout' money should be put towards these factories and people producing 'free energy' or 'renewable energy' products.
The world needs these products now and money invested now will produce a return in the future as these energies are re-sold.
Just an opinion.
11. Davip said...
Well said str -- but falls on deaf ears globally (and attached to petrol-heads mostly in this arena)
12. Crunchy said...
Good point 7
But why has it not happened sooner?
Flies in the face of a global carbon tax does it not?
Does not fit into long term agenda maybe.
13. 51ck-6-51x said...
str 2007:
I am inclined to agree with you in principle - the problem really, though, is the knock on effects. If GM &or Ford go down, then so, probably, do their suppliers, since the supply was on credit, this in turn will bring the U.S. economy to it's knees. I think there may be some argument to letting the failing cos go to the wall slowly by guaranteeing any existing suppliers invoices from default of said cos, but not giving said cos anything.
14. 51ck-6-51x said...
Oh... I think I typed an ampersand followed by the word or with no space and it came out as a V, let me try it again... &or
15. mark said...
let them go and bring back TVR
16. 51ck-6-51x said...
mark - maybe we should get Justin Lee-Collins on the case...
17. str 2007 said...
51ck
Glad I'm not going mad, my solution seems obvious to me, as you say the suppliers credit may need guaranteeing, what would be a pity is to let all that factory space, machinery and people go to waste when there is a job to do.
Yet I don't see others coming up with my solution to the problem.
18. 51ck-6-51x said...
str 2007:
Great minds ... ;p
I have my fingers crossed that the politicians will get it right when it really counts!
19. Jj said...
So the UK government bails out GM workers in the UK, but whats to stop the bailout being siphoned off to headquarters in the states and leaving the Uk offices without funding. They are going to have to be very careful with the conditions of this one. Its could be like a Lehman Brothers situation all over again with billions of pounds worth of silent money transfers overnight to head offices.
20. timmy t said...
str - I agree. They were saying on 5live this afternoon that 1 in 4 jobs in the US is related to the Car industry (1 in 10 here). But the problem is bigger than just economics - if 1 in 4 people are employed building things which ruin our planet then there's not much hope for us. Its a bit like trying to build an economy based on a housing market - fundamentally flawed!!
21. Crunchy said...
12
Makes sense.
In a climate of nonesense.
Will not happen. It does not fit the agenda.
22. crunchy said...
12
Makes sense,
So there is no way it will happen.
23. mark said...
somehow we will get over it, people will adapt and get different jobs, much like the coal miners............ we need change it is good..........
24. str 2007 said...
mark
I don't think they need different jobs as such, I just think they need to make different things in those factories.
Don't you think it's better if the tax payers got to pay, hat they make something useful to all of us rather than a bunch of average cars no-one really needs.
If we're going to be a global village 'so to speak' let the Japanese and Germans make the cars (they're best at it) & use the GM and Ford factories to make something that compensates the effects of the cars like renewable energy products. I'm sure a purchase tax could be added to vehicles that went directly to fund these developments. A proper green tax if you like, rather than these mickey mouse road tax increases.