Government Motors Gives $4,000 Bonuses to 48,000 Hourly Workers
Posted by Jim Hoft on Monday, February 14, 2011, 12:07 PM
Government Motors will pay 48,000 hourly workers $4,000 in bonuses this year. Salaried workers will also be given bonuses.
The AP reported:
General Motors Co. will pay more than $189 million in profit-sharing to 48,000 U.S. hourly workers and millions more in performance bonuses to salaried employees, according to company documents obtained by The Associated Press.
GM will pay most hourly workers more than $4,000 each as compensation for its strong financial performance last year, said a person briefed on the bonuses. The payments come less than two years after the automaker emerged from bankruptcy protection with the help of a huge government bailout. They’re more than double the previous record payment of $1,775 in 1999, at the height of the boom in sales of sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks.
“On the whole, we made tremendous progress last year,” CEO and Chairman Dan Akerson said in an e-mail message to employees announcing the payments on Monday. “With our collective teamwork, this can be just the beginning.”
GM’s 28,000 salaried workers, such as engineers and managers, will get bonuses equal to 4 to 16 percent of their base pay. Fewer than 1 percent will get 50 percent or more; another 3 percent will get from 16 percent to around 50 percent, the person said. GM is not giving annual pay raises.
GM made $4.2 billion in the first nine months of 2010 and is expected to soon announce a fourth-quarter profit. The company needed a $49.5 billion government bailout to survive a mid-2009 bankruptcy filing, and the government still owns 25 percent of GM’s stock. Chrysler, which needed a $12.5 billion bailout, plans to pay bonuses as well. The government owns about 9 percent of Chrysler stock.
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Published May 22, 2012 at 5:04 am - 29 Comments
uncivil & right commented:
Wonder how much of the bonus must be kicked back to the union and deposited in the zer0 re-election pot.
Militant Conservative commented:
Just saw my first sign of the election cycle. OTP…..Onetermpresident.com
The TPM and the fervor to crush Obama and toss him out of 1600 Pennsylvania ave is still palpable. All that hs to happen is the Republicans to put forth a “CONSERVATIVE” candidate.
As for the kickback to GM, what your suprised??? He’s a crook.
powder is dry.
K~Bob commented:
Big Labor cash contributions to “all candidates” (*cough*Democrats*cough*) campaigns massively dwarfed all other contributions last election.
But even Government Motors labor pool (union and non-union) is no match for the size of the state, local, and federal employee unions. And lawmakers in Michigan have begun a push for “right to work” zones. (Here’s an idea, howbout one zone, exactly the size of Michigan?) So as bad as this looks, and as maddening as it is to see taxpayer money go to the auto workers, THEY aren’t the problem. Auto workers are a millstone around the auto company necks, not taxpayers in each of the 57 states.
A change in leadership in DC easily can end the “Government” part of GM. The hard job is for all of the states to do what is being tried in Ohio ( http://is.gd/WYwpcS ) and Tennessee ( http://is.gd/B3ENAo ). The key has to be making it unlawful for those on the public payroll to influence elections (except as private citizens).
bigkahuna commented:
I will never buy a GM or Chrysler product again. I havent for years but this continued raping of the country /taxpayer to the benefit of unions and union labor is over for me.
Screw them and Obama
JimmyT commented:
Only financial shenanigans enable Government Motors to show a false profit so they can hand more of our money over to the unions. November 2012 can’t get here soon enough for me.
shibumi commented:
A question to all the unemployed out there: how does it feel to have a company owned by the government, and financed through your tax dollars, give $4000 bonuses?
Has anyone here ever received a bonus like that? Because of the economy, the firm I work for gave up holiday bonuses entirely a few years ago.
Susan commented:
Union Members:
What kind of a person willingly steals from their own children and grandchildren?
How do you live with yourselves after eagerly eating your own?
NotADryEye commented:
You just can’t make this stuff up. If you try to write parody, you can’t do better than just repeat reality. All that is left for great comedy is to practice facial expressions, I guess.
This is really sort of an ad campaign for unions, you know. Since they have suffered record losses of membership, they (the unions and the administration) believe that if they show how the union members will prosper even when their company is floundering and the country is broke, that they can reverse that trend. It should come in really handy while trying to organize non-union shops.
ebayer commented:
GM hiring?
bigkahuna commented:
We should sell GM to the Chinese so they can straighten it out.
I bet all those secured lenders who were bent over the oval office desk and screwed by Obigears are so happy for the GM employees.
When they go bankrupt again in a few years I bet they wont get another bailout and those workers will all lose their pensions and healthcare. At the very least those freaking bonuses should go toward their pensions instead of bonuses so we dont have to bail them out too those freaking scum need jailed.
They havent paid hardly anything back from the $50 billion
befuddled commented:
$4,000– oh sweet, now i can hire my very own union goon to harass my neighbors about keeping their lawn mowed. wonder how much extra to have them bash someone’s head in? or is that a service that is provided freely?
don’t worry folks, this is a sign; America will be repaid with ease and the recovery is moving faster than Biden’s high speed rail investment. as for me, i think i will look good going to see the new Beiber movie in my new Chevy Volt. Obama is right, suddenly, i don’t feel like i have to worry about paying my mortgage, car payment, gas, etc.. i took care of him and now he’s taking care of me.
is it me or does it seem that all Republicans are pessimistic tight wads? you can’t have the “rip roaring ’20′s” without spending some cash and going into debt. know your history conservative evil doers.
Texmom commented:
Did anyone actually write any payback agreement into this when they accepted the money? Seems like 100% payback would be in order before any bonuses went out, unless of course….this wasn’t on the up and up. I’m sure we are all shocked at this news- not.
dunce commented:
Every dollar should have been used to buy back stock that the govt. holds. Earnings reports can and are regularly managed with accounting tricks but the govt. is not going to call foul on itself. This company is in a new death spiral.
David commented:
Their original $6.7 billion TARP loan had an interest rate of 7%. Story here: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2010/04/23/did-general-motors-really-repay-taxpayer-bailout/
$6.7 billion x 7% = $469,000,000 per year in interest payments. So trade that loan in for an interest free loan and it sure clears the decks for $189 millon in bonuses to union members.
Funny how that all works out.
John B commented:
When AIG people got bonuses after TARP, ACORN got on their non-atroturfed buses and protested in front of their houses. (With full blessing of the Vietnam Vet and no Ct. Senator Blumenthal). And Obama ranted and threatened that it was only him that kept their pitchformks at bay.
Where ACORN now? Where be Obama?
JWD commented:
Ironic that this amount is similar to the maximum that a couple could give to a Presidential candidate in “hard” contributions. I wonder if there will be a suggestion on who should get some money for the 2012 campaign…with your tax dollars.
Ladue Pundit commented:
If they have extra cash why not repay the bond holders, the legal heirs, who were screwed by Obama? Every bankruptcy law on the books was trashed ro accomplish that feat.
“We’re not in the car business.”
“Now is NOT the time for profits; there’ll be time for profits later.
“If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor.”
“The economy will not come back until we get health care.”
WHAT A LIAR.
Lindsay commented:
What about giving some money back to the original stockholders that got shafted when the government took over the GM massive pensions and retiree health care and screwed the stockholders.
Tom in CA commented:
I’m with Big Kahuna. Never buy a GM or Chrysler again. Take away 50% of the the available buying public, and they will have problems….
bg commented:
++
not to worry, one of Obama’s benefactors owns GM stock.. /s/
heh, who knows who owns US.. *sigh*
oh btw, GM is thriving (and of course it’s tax exempt)..
==
AuntieMadder commented:
Militant Conservative commented:
“Just saw my first sign of the election cycle. OTP…..Onetermpresident.com
The TPM and the fervor to crush Obama and toss him out of 1600 Pennsylvania ave is still palpable. All that hs to happen is the Republicans to put forth a “CONSERVATIVE” candidate. ”
We’ve got to remember this and continue to tell others for the next two years because the lamestream media has already begun their Barky for 2012 campaign by telling viewers that it’s his for the taking.
bg commented:
++
re: #21
Obama Harvard sponsor al Mansour’s (aka: Don/ald Warden
client Prince Alwaleed holds GM stock (among many others)..
[just an aside sampling of why Obama is king of the world.. fyi.. there's
more.. much more people truly haven't a clue about, and that's just a
half arsed primer, you don't know nothing' yet!!]
==
Double Fault commented:
GM can do whatever it wants with their “profits” … after all, they stole that money fair and square from us … with our President driving the get-away-car.
Joel commented:
Not enough people really care. The tea party can not really change this country, one election cycle does not mean a thing.
When 0bama is a one term president, then I will believe.
When the New York Times goes out of business, then I will believe.
When Newsweek goes out of business, then I will believe.
When Katie is gone, then I will believe.
There is a lot of work to do.
mark commented:
Is this supposed to be a model of how businesses should “share” the profits with their workers? Isn’t that what Obama said just last week? What a guy. Since the American people own the company, where’s our bonus check? Shouldn’t the company share the profits and spread the wealth around?
luckyone commented:
It’s good to be a FOB, friend of Obama. All others, you can ride in the back.
Blue Collar Todd commented:
That is more of a bonus than I am getting. But I work for a business not the government.
stephen e. Morgan commented:
Realy sucks.. I get laid off in December and was on the phone today begging the Gas and Electric Company to not turn my heat off and Obamas Cronies are getting a bonus? Basically using our money?? If that bastard gets elected again there will be a Civil WAR….
Scott commented:
Amazing what walking away from tens of billions of dollars owed to people who loaned your company money, not honoring stock owed to millions of shareholders, and getting tens of billions from the taxpayers will do to your profitability…These people should be ashamed. Instead, they are bragging and paying themselves taxpayer funded bonuses. The Obama administration is the most corrupt in the history of America. God help us!
enjay commented:
No GM vehicles for me.
Who would support a company that lacks any integrity, has failing business practices and only exists because of it’s parasitic feeding on taxpayers!
Taxpayer commented:
Profit-sharing?!?! What profit?!?!
UpChuck.Liberals commented:
See, who say’s that you have to be successful to make it in Barry’s world.
UpChuck.Liberals commented:
See, all those Super Bowl commercials paid off.
jorgen commented:
Why shouldn’t they? Obama will generously give them more of other people’s money.
Bill S commented:
I think before any profit sharing is paid out that GM should restore the dental and eye care benefits that were promised to us over our career at GM. For over 31 years I worked with the promise of retiree benefits, then just 3 months after retiring, benefits were eliminated. Restore my benefits that I worked for, then share any left over funds with current workers.