Holiday season coming up, but not for the folks at GM – General Motors, pounded by declining sales and rising health-care costs, said Monday it will cut more than a quarter of its North American manufacturing jobs and close 12 facilities by 2008. The United Auto Workers called the plan “devastating” and warned it will make negotiations more difficult, but some Wall Street analysts said GM’s actions may not go far enough. To get production in line with demand, GM will cut 30,000 jobs, which represent 17 percent of GM’s North American hourly and salaried work force of 173,000, and will close nine assembly, stamping and powertrain plants and three parts facilities. GM’s U.S. market share fell to 26.2 percent in the first 10 months of this year compared with 33 percent a decade ago, the result of increasing competition from Asian rivals. GM lost almost $4 billion in the first nine months of this year.
Meanwhile, after fiercely defending his Iraq policy across Asia, President Bush abruptly toned down his attack on war critics Sunday and said there was nothing unpatriotic about opposing his strategy. “People should feel comfortable about expressing their opinions about Iraq,” Bush said, three days after agreeing with Vice President Dick Cheney that the critics were “reprehensible.” The president also praised Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., as “a fine man” and a strong supporter of the military despite the congressman’s call for troop withdrawal as soon as possible.
And finally – The Bush administration and military leaders are sounding optimistic notes about scaling back U.S. troops in Iraq next year, as public opposition to the war and congressional demands for withdrawal get louder Contingency plans for a phased withdrawal include proposals to further postpone or cancel the deployment of a Fort Riley, Kan., brigade and an option to put a combat brigade in nearby Kuwait in case it is needed, said a senior Pentagon official.
While military leaders would not confirm the size of possible withdrawals, conversations with defense officials and analysts suggest troop levels could drop below 100,000 next year, contingent on the progress of the Iraqi government and its security forces. There are currently about 155,000 U.S. troops in Iraq.
And along with GM layoffs, that’s just a little of what went on the week ending November 27, 2005 from CBS Radio’s Weekend Roundup.
