US automotive analysts believe strong industrial relations to be a key plank of GM’s push to maintain its recent healthy performances.
In a briefing last week, new GM CEO Dan Akerson emphasised the crucial nature of working with the UAW union and how he was not looking to create an adversarial labour relations environment.
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“This applies to everybody – there will be a lot of sabre rattling,” IHS Automotive director of research North America George Magliano told just-auto. “Both sides have to really work again to get costs down and the way this will have to happen is not just concessions.
“Detroit will have to figure out a way, perhaps profit sharing, to get labour costs down. Right now, the new union leadership is trying to push a hard deal.”
Magliano added he believed the new GM chief to be the right appointment to lead the manufacturer back to sustained profitability – and to repay the US taxpayer-funded bailout of US$50bn within “the next couple of years” as Akerson noted last week.
“I think he [Akerson] is the right man for the job – they need a continuation of [former CEO] Whitacre,” said Magliano.
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By GlobalData“The issue with GM is it was not moving fast enough – you need someone in there who keeps things moving.”
Magliano hailed GM’s recent performance that saw the manufacturer turn in a sparkling set of results, but cautioned momentum needed to be maintained.
“After the second quarter earnings report, my feeling is GM builds off that – they made a lot of hay with that great publicity – you take advantage.”
GM has already paid off US$8.4bn in loans from the US and Canadian governments somewhat earlier than anticipated and has now set its sights on a tough timetable of repaying the US$50bn bailout in full within a couple of years.
Last Friday (17 September) Akerson praised GM’s performance during the recent two quarters, but cautioned “two quarters a trend does not make.”
