State of the Union November 9, 2011

Nov. 9, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

There will be a Women’s Committee meeting Thursday after first shift at the Union Hall. All are invited to attend.

Here are the winners of the suggestion fair drawings: Big Screen TV – Kim Martinez, chassis; Apparel and Golf passes – James Morton, Jim Stack, Brian Hoffman, chassis; Glenn House, quhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifality; Ann McFadden, material; Steve Hotard, paint; Rocky, skilled trades; Michael Sevener, new hire.

Team leader applications will be accepted today through Friday for current or future Chassis department members only. Testing will be done next week for the 6 remaining openings.

Financial results for GM’s third quarter are in. North American operations earnings before taxes were $2.203 billion, which equates to $2200 profit sharing. Overall, GM’s earnings were $1.726 billion on revenue of $36.8 billion, down from $1.959 billion last year. GM’s fortunes reversed in Europe, where it lost $292 million in the third quarter after posting a net profit in the second quarter. But the loss in Europe was less than the $559 million GM lost there in the third quarter of 2010. GM now does not expect to break even in Europe for the year before restructuring charges, which had been its goal, GM CFO Dan Ammann told reporters today. "We obviously have significant macroeconomic challenges to address there," Amman said. Profits at GM's international division, which includes China, fell 29 percent to $365 million. Ammann said earnings in China were up, but unfavorable exchange rates in other markets curbed profits. GM lost $44 million in South America during the quarter after posting steady profits of around $100 million or $200 million there in recent quarters. In the third quarter of 2010, GM had posted South American profits of $163 million. GM Financial posted a third-quarter pretax profit of $178 million. It was not a subsidiary a year earlier. GM is forecasting fourth quarter earnings to be essentially the same as last year, which was around $1 billion with NA earnings of $800 million.

From the Chaplaincy Committee: There will be a Veterans Day Memorial Friday, Nov. 11 at lunch time in the Chassis Chapel located at column C-42. All are welcome to attend.

From Automotive News: Nissan North America Inc. will expand its cargo van into a people hauler next spring when it introduces the NV3500 HD passenger van. The 12-passenger van will have four rows of seats and offer two engine options, a 317-hp V-8 with 385 pounds-feet of torque or a 261-hp 4.0-liter V-6 with 281 pounds-feet of torque. Both engines will be paired with a five-speed automatic transmission. The van will feature 324 seat configurations, with removable second and third-row seats.

From the Detroit News: General Motors Co. has taken a big step toward reducing retiree costs in Canada by setting up a health care trust fund similar to the one established by the United AutoWorkers union. The company said Tuesday it received final legal approval to establish the independent fund, which will cover health care benefits for about 32,000 retirees represented by the Canadian Auto Workers union. The fund, effective Oct. 31, allows GM to shift the expense of caring for aging retirees to the union-run health fund. "The new health care trust is another step forward as we work to de-risk and strengthen our balance sheet and position the company for sustainable profitability," said GM CFO Dan Ammann in a statement. The Detroit-based automaker expects the transaction will take about $3 billion in retiree liabilities off its books. GM and the Canadian union first agreed to the health care trust in June 2009 as part of cost-cutting measures associated with the automaker's bankruptcy restructuring. Establishment was held up by legal approvals. GM will pay in total over $2.5 billion into the fund over the next seven years, starting with an initial payment of $1 billion.

From the Detroit Free Press: Toyota said its quarterly profit slid 18.5 percent to $1 billion on plunging sales caused by parts shortages from the tsunami disaster in northeastern Japan and warned it faces a new challenge from flooding in Thailand. Toyota Motor Corp. declined Tuesday to give a forecast for the full financial year ending March 2012, citing uncertainties stemming from the Thai floods which have disrupted supplies of parts and prompted it to cut some car production. Toyota, Japan's top automaker, said that vehicle sales plunged in the key markets of Japan and North America, but it was making up for some of the losses by strong sales in Asia, such as India and Indonesia. Toyota's quarterly sales fell nearly 5 percent from a year earlier to $58.7 billion. Also battering Toyota is the surging yen. Toyota counted on the dollar costing 86 yen last year, but is now seeing it slip to 78 yen. Toyota said the unfavorable exchange rate erased $1 billion from its latest quarterly net income. Toyota, which was the world's biggest automaker in annual vehicle sales last year, sank to No. 3 in the first half of this year, trailing U.S. rival General Motors Co. and Volkswagen AG of Germany.

From the Wall Street Journal: Toyota Motor Corp. said it will recall about 283,200 Toyota and 137,000 Lexus vehicles to replace the crankshaft pulleys on their V6 engines. The recall includes the 2004 Avalon; 2004 and 2005 Camry, Highlander, Sienna, and Solara; 2006 Highlander HV; 2004 and 2005 Lexus ES330 and RX330; and 2006 RX400h. The car maker said no other Toyota or Lexus vehicles, or versions of the listed vehicles with 4-cylinder engines are affected. The problem stems from the outer ring of the crankshaft pulley, which may become misaligned with the inner ring, causing noise and possibly illumination of a warning light. If the problem isn’t corrected the belt for the power steering pump may detach from the pulley and the driver may notice a sudden increase in the effort required to turn the steering wheel. The recall is expected to begin in January, when Toyota hopes to have enough parts available to make the repairs.