General Motors : An Automotive Manufacturing Company

General Motors (GM), who once dominated the automobile industry, has now plummeted, almost to the point of extinction. Throughout the 1940’s to the 1970’s General Motors (GM) had dominated the automobile industry. By the 1980’s, GM was suddenly facing a shift in the economy and consumer demands.

I - Introduction………..………...………………………………………….….….p 3 II - What are the internal and external factors that contributed to GM’s decline and eventual bankruptcy protection application?……………….....….p 4

General Motors, an American borne company established in 1908, designs, builds and distributes a wide range of cars, trucks, crossovers and automobile parts worldwide. The company’s automotive operations adhere to the demands of consumers stationed internationally through its four primary automotive regions: GM North America, GM Europe, GM International Operations and GM South America. GM North America targets and serves the demands of customers based in North America with vehicles manufactured and marketed under the Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC brands. The demands of consumers outside of North America are primarily met with vehicles manufactured under the brands Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Holden,

This company was created to challenge the Ford Motor company in the twentieth century. General Motors created automatic transmissions, practical air conditioning, and the very first version self start. These creations gave General Motors the edge over Ford and other car companies at the time. “In the early years, GM's marketers added style and color to cars, putting Henry Ford and his industry-leading Model T's on the defensive” (Woodyard 03).With knowledge and advancement General Motors performed well and gained from it. But in recent years General Motors started to cut corners and build things of a cheaper quality making mistakes. These mistakes and corner cutting created problems for General Motors. It eventually lead to General Motors filing for bankruptcy on June 1st in 2009. General Motors was eventually saved from their bankruptcy but the damage was done. The General Motors plant in Moraine Ohio was shut down causing a lot of people to lose their jobs. The mistakes General Motor made did not just hurt themselves but the people who relied on those jobs. There are people who are now homeless and are struggling. The knowledge General Motors had helped them reach their success but the creators lost sight of their morals. They took the easy route and failed hurting plenty of people destroying hundreds of families and people's

In the hyper competitive world of today’s mega corporations controlled by the sway of the stock market, giant old industrial era companies rule over the automobile market in the United States as well as large parts of the global automobile market. Companies such as General Motors, Chrysler, and Ford were at the center of it until the economic crisis now known as the Great Recession of the late 2000s. The whole market was declining in sales with General Motors and Chrysler taking the biggest hits while Ford only suffered decline comparable to foreign automakers’, Honda and Toyota, levels due to restructuring in prior years. However, the tipping point was edging closer to bankruptcy with General Motors and Chrysler that ultimately

Think of it this way, all of the debt, problems, and poor choices made by the notoriously distinguished old GM were put on a boat (Motors Liquidation, Inc.) and given a viking burial (code 363 liquidated (sold in parts for as much profit as possible)) while every asset went to a new company convolutedly called General Motors. Basically, New GM made out like a bandit.

General Motors (?GM? or ?the company?) has a rich history longer than a century starting with its corporate organization in 1908. Following its organization, GM acquired its first brand, Old Motor Works, which was followed in 1909 by the purchase of Cadillac for $5.5 million. Two years later, GM organized both General Motors Truck to handle sales of GM?s Rapid and Reliance products and General Motors Export Company to handle export sales out of the US. In 1918, GM purchased Chevrolet Motors. In 1926, GM entered Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Egypt, Uruguay and Argentina through the General Motors Export Company. General Motors Truck became the modern GMC in 1943 when GM acquired the assets of Yellow Truck & Coach. In 1945, GM finally established all of its historical core brands (Buick, Chevrolet, Cadillac, GMC, Oldsmobile, and Pontiac) when the Buick-Oldsmobile-Pontiac Assembly Division, which would be renamed the General Motors Assembly Division in 1965, was formed.

Even though GM has been given some advantages, it is experiencing problems in Europe and in South America (Kinicki & Williams, 2013). The home market is proving to be a challenge, also. Toyota and Honda are standing out as stiff competition. One plan to help achieve the profit goal for GM is to reduce auto platforms by

By 2008, the recession impacted the global marketplace, as automobile sales declined. This time period became problematic for GM since the company was near bankruptcy. After weeks on Capitol Hill in an effort save GM, an automotive bailout package was approved during the Obama Administration. Gm would receive bailout loans from the America, Canada, and the Ontarian governments to address the recession, record oil prices, and a serious global automotive crisis. As a result of GM’s bankruptcy filing, the company would reorganize itself. This meant that a popular brand like the Pontiac would be phased out, while GM focus on North American brands like Cadillac, GMC, Chevrolet, and Buick. In 2009, the old GM was replaced by the New GM in an effort

As it emerged from bankruptcy and company reorganization in 2010, GM reorganized the content and structure of its brand portfolio. Some nameplates like Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Saturn, Hummer, and service brands like Goodwrench were discontinued. Others, like SAAB, were sold.

Introduction. General Motors is a company that designs and produces car and truck and car components, as well as Financial Services. General Motors Headquarter is in Detroit, Michigan. Currently GM employs 212,000 people. GM are engaged in the business to 157 countries around the world, and produces automobiles and trucks in 37 countries under such brands as Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac, Isuzu, Jie Fang, Opel, Vauxhall and Wulug. General Motors produced 9.489.000 vehicles. Company Revenue for 2012 is 150.276 billion dollars. (Wikipedia, 2013)

From 2008, GM made a big change by slimming down its scale dramatically. Since GM was saddled with a huge burden, the large population of employee. The company has to pay pensions and health care cost for its every employee. It has not only a financial burden, but also has a employee burden. According to the contract, even in the difficult time, the company can not dismiss its employees, or the company has to pay fines. Its 8 brands also have to be maintained. Each one needs new models and continuous improvement, and these also require a huge investment. General Motors announced a new restructuring program in 2008. According to the plan, GM will cut the number of employees in 2008 to 6.2 million reduced to 40,000 be in the United States before the end of next year. The number of dealers will be cut as well.

After 77 years, proud and dominant General Motors was no longer known as the number one automotive manufacture worldwide. One significant contributor to GM decline was the company’s pension and postretirement benefit expenses that drove up their cost of making cars versus the cost of their foreign competitors. In 2009, right in the mist of the U.S. economic crisis GM filed bankruptcy (Welch, 2009).Prior to filing bankruptcy critics suggested that GM misrepresented their pension-related financial statements to conceal serious financial problems. In 2002, GM was facing falling stock market prices that drove down the value of their assets surrounding their pension plans and increased the company’s liabilities

General Motors was once a back bone of American economy. It was one of those organizations who were the driving force of American automotive industry single handedly. But like any other enterprise, it has its strengths and weaknesses. Global presence with an impeccable distribution system which ensures a highest reach out couple with strong research and development gives it a competitive edge over its rivals however it has also borne its share of trouble mainly caused by recession. But now that market is picking up again, GM is also showing steady growth.

General Motors is one of the world's most dominant automakers from 1931. After 1980s economic recession the main goal for automobile companies was cost reduction. Customers became more price-sensitive. Also Japanese competitors came into market with the new effective system of production. So market was highly competitive and directed toward price reduction. The case states that in 1991 GM suffered $ 4.5 billion losses and most part of the costs of manufacturing was due to purchased components. GM NA hired Lopez in order to find the way from "extraordinary" situation and reduce costs.