[NefCanuck]

OAC_Sparky,Nov 16 2007, 05:48 AM Wrote:

NefCanuck,Nov 15 2007, 11:16 PM Wrote:

meford4u,Nov 15 2007, 09:49 PM Wrote:And Nef, directed at you.  Your comment about accepting the pay cut or unemployment.  Has your comment changed now that a third shift has been cut and over 1000 people are on EI?  The cut in wages changed nothing IMO.
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It's not good, but was the money they made even with the cut more than what they would have gotten on EI? :huh:

I know that sounds mercenary, but in these times...

NefCanuck
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You missed the point. They took the cut AND they're still on EI.

It boils down to this:

The cost of manpower and wages to build a vehicle boils down to 11-15% of the vehicles total cost. And that's including hourly, trades, engineers, management, etc. from beginning to end, from the engine and stamping plants to the assembly plant. So for a $30,000 vehicle less than $4G of it is labour.

We could all work for nothing and the best you'd do is that $4G.

So, what we make is immaterial. Wages wouldn't be an issue if your company is making something that the consumer wants.
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No, I understand that, but my question was: Did they make more money taking the cut then and being laid off now and on EI versus getting thrown on EI back then with no wage consession by the CAW?

Again I know that sounds bad, but I would personally keep working, making less yeah, but more than if I was out of a job altogether and relying on EI (and believe me, I do a fair number of EI calls, what you get on EI is criminal compared to what you put into it)

Thing is: Where else can Ford (or any other automaker) cut? There are certain fixed costs that they can do nothing about (capital costs are one example) so they look at the only cost where they believe that they have flexibility, that being wages.

Which is of course a fool's errand, fewer people working, fewer people available to buy their product, not the mention all of the ancillary economic activity lost as a result of the terminated jobs and the wages they spawned.

As to the desirability/affordability of the product, that comes down to decision making by people so far removed from the average consumer, are you at all surprised that there are more misses than hits? I mean when was the last time any of these decision makers ever rode in, NVM drove an entry level product like a Focus?

NefCanuck