GM closing all Oshawa, Ontario operations

[Anonymous]

Asian automakers in Canada are not slashing jobs.



Toyota plans to build Lexus SUV in Cambridge



CAMBRIDGE, Ont. — Toyota will start building the Lexus NX SUV at its Cambridge, Ont., plant starting in 2022, the company announced Monday, saying the move demonstrates its commitment to staying in the province.



The plant will produce both a standard and hybrid version of the vehicle to supply the North American market.



Fred Volf, president of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada, said the announcement is good news for Ontario auto workers.



"It means that Toyota's Canadian manufacturing operations are here to stay," he said during a news conference at the plant held with the prime minister.



Toyota will have extra capacity at the plant after announcing in March that it would shift production of the hybrid RAV4 SUV to the U.S.



Last year, the company committed to invest $1.4 billion in its Cambridge and Woodstock plants in Ontario. The federal government committed $110 million to support the investment.



Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said government funding will always play a role in securing the future of the Canadian auto industry.



The new product announcement by Toyota comes after Ontario was hit by major job loss announcements recently.



General Motors Canada announced last November that it would close its Oshawa, Ont., plant by the end of 2019 at a loss of almost 3,000 jobs, while Fiat Chrysler said in March that it would cut a shift at its Windsor, Ont., plant later this year at a loss of about 1,500 jobs.

[Bricktop]

GM is doomed.



It makes crap cars that can't sell.

[Anonymous]

GM is doomed.



It makes crap cars that can't sell.

Their trucks are doing very well.

[Bricktop]

No auto manufacturer can survive on just trucks. The market is almost solely the US.

[Anonymous]

No auto manufacturer can survive on just trucks. The market is almost solely the US.

But, as Seoul has said before, Ford, GM and Chrysler seem like they want to be smaller companies relying on truck sales alone..



They have given up trying to compete with Asian and European automakers for the car market.

[Anonymous]

No auto manufacturer can survive on just trucks. The market is almost solely the US.

That's exactly how the big three North American automakers plan to survive. Smaller companies with a niche product line.

[Bricktop]

That is a strategy for oblivion. As any student of Business Management will know, the strategy of shrinking your business to respond to competition invariably leads to a company's demise.



The maths don't add up. If you shrink your product base, your revenue will reduce accordingly.



That means less revenue for R&D, innovation and production investment.



The larger companies will be more likely to innovate and control the market. Niche products tend to be vulnerable to changes in demand as a result of economic and consumer fluctuations.



GM is increasingly vulnerable. Ford less so because of its stronger European business.



GM is building very few vehicles outside of the US. The GM mass consumer product range is largely rebadged Asian models.



Like Chrysler, larger companies will be circling. And look what has happened to Chrysler.

[Anonymous]

That is a strategy for oblivion. As any student of Business Management will know, the strategy of shrinking your business to respond to competition invariably leads to a company's demise.



The maths don't add up. If you shrink your product base, your revenue will reduce accordingly.



That means less revenue for R&D, innovation and production investment.



The larger companies will be more likely to innovate and control the market. Niche products tend to be vulnerable to changes in demand as a result of economic and consumer fluctuations.



GM is increasingly vulnerable. Ford less so because of its stronger European business.



GM is building very few vehicles outside of the US. The GM mass consumer product range is largely rebadged Asian models.



Like Chrysler, larger companies will be circling. And look what has happened to Chrysler.

But, Ford is very profitable isn't it..



So too is GM, I thought.

[Bricktop]

Ford has a broader business presence in Europe with a number of big selling models in the UK.



GM only has its el cheapo Chevrolet brand and they are hard to stop on British motorways. It's biggest brand in Europe was Opel, but they have sold that to Peugeot as part of their retraction programme.



Maybe they have a long term business plan that makes them more profitable...but the only way they will make MORE money from LESS inventory is to shut down factories and reduce overheads. And that is usually a very short term gain.



And GM has not been bashful in the past to rely on Government payouts and subsidies to maintain profitability. Those days are long gone.

[Anonymous]

I like Ford's long term plans.



Ford's China blitz: 50 new vehicles by 2025

https://www.autonews.com/article/20171205/GLOBAL03/171209894/ford-s-china-blitz-50-new-vehicles-by-2025">https://www.autonews.com/article/201712 ... es-by-2025">https://www.autonews.com/article/20171205/GLOBAL03/171209894/ford-s-china-blitz-50-new-vehicles-by-2025



And GM too



General Motors To Continue Growth Momentum

https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2019/02/13/general-motors-to-continue-growth-momentum/#14577d576135">https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspecu ... 577d576135">https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2019/02/13/general-motors-to-continue-growth-momentum/#14577d576135



General Motors Strengthens Core Business and Future Mobility

https://media.gm.com/media/us/en/gm/home.detail.html/content/Pages/news/us/en/2019/jan/0111-capital.html">https://media.gm.com/media/us/en/gm/hom ... pital.html">https://media.gm.com/media/us/en/gm/home.detail.html/content/Pages/news/us/en/2019/jan/0111-capital.html

[Bricktop]

GM's "profit" comes at the expense of FOUR plant closures.



That report is less than encouraging if you read between the lines.

[Anonymous]

I saw this Bricktop.



CEO Mary Barra's tough turnaround plan at General Motors has already started paying off.



GM's fourth-quarter earnings, released Wednesday, beat Wall Street expectations on tighter cost controls and higher truck sales.



This was Q4 after solid Q3 numbers.

[Anonymous]

Ford and GM's long term strategy are Asia and North America. Chrysler's strategy is survival.

[Bricktop]

I saw this Bricktop.



CEO Mary Barra's tough turnaround plan at General Motors has already started paying off.



GM's fourth-quarter earnings, released Wednesday, beat Wall Street expectations on tighter cost controls and higher truck sales.



This was Q4 after solid Q3 numbers.

Cutting back costs by reducing your manufacturing capability will give your profit a kick. But it is not sustainable unless you improve productivity at the same time.



GM is closing factories all over the world. This is not the sign of a healthy and stable business.



Any manufacturer who relies on China as it's platform for growth is taking an enormous risk. Sooner rather than later, China's own vehicle manufacturers will reach the quality levels of the Koreans and Japanese, and this exceeds the quality level of both Ford and GM.



If it weren't for their truck divisions, largely focussed in the US, they would already be in dire straights. It should not be forgotten that in the not too distant past, Ford owned Jaguar and Land Rover, while GM owned Saab.



Jaguar and Land Rover survived only because an Indian car maker saw value in the brands and rebuilt them, and Saab are no more.

[Anonymous]

You can't deny GM is doing better now since they eliminated Pontiac.