So Not Good

This morning I logged in my account and found my boss had sent me the 33 page Ford filing to Congress re $25 billion loan. Because I had a good night's sleep I trolled through it quickly and most of the material was familiar: First, Ford wants to distinguish itself from its peers by saying it doesn't have short term liquidity problems, and therefore is only requesting a ready line of credit at this time. Second, Ford goes to great lengths to say, prior to the current meltdown, it had already taken steps to restructure its business and third, in its business plans Ford has a lineup of products that will be ecologically responsible and attractive to consumers.

Many of you have asked what my views are of the bailout, and I've been trying to think of the Big 3 individually as well as the US auto industry in general. If I look at the individual companies, I have to say I have no clue what the guys at GM are doing. Given the cash intensive business we're in, I think Wagoner and crew should be sacked for taking so long to admit they need a cash infusion of $4 billion before end of the year, or else. Tell me credit crisis or not they didn't see this one coming for a while. The fact that they wasted their energy as late as September this year to discuss a potential merger with Chrysler is a clear sign they live in a different parallel universe. Chrysler is mainly a US entity and one that's probably most in jeopardy, given I'm cynical about Cerberus' intentions. Ford, my company, is probably the best at execution, but the question remains whether under current pressures we will only take steps for the short term (2011 is still short term for me) or really do more than pay lip service to sustainability and think where we will take this company in the next 10,20 years.

As for the automotive industry in general, I hope the public picks up the following points: First, there is a danger of a domino effect in terms of the supply base: should GM go under the other two will also be severly impacted. Second, as an HR person I joined this industry because it is unionized (and I'm not asked to go be a union buster) and provides decent jobs and wages for its employees. I continue to reject the race to the bottom in terms of striving for the lowest pay and standard of living. The UAW and Big 3 had some cushy deals in the past, and as far as I'm concerned it's ok if we don't preserve these $20/hr jobs with benefits...as long as we are willing to build up the social safety net that is currently lacking in this country. $9/hr with no health insurance is not a living wage. Finally, there are steps the govt can take instead of (or in addition to) handing over a check. There are infrastructure decisions to be made if we are to have a future with electric vehicles/mass transit - make those investments and create a market for automakers in general. Then sit back to see if the Big 3 step up to the plate...

I am sad about the current state of affairs in Mumbai, Zimbabwe and the Congo at this time, but it really serves to remind us that there are plenty of other issues worthy of our attention, aside from the fluctuations of the Dow. Our lives likely WILL NOT be as materially comfortable as before, but we're far from merely surviving, as so many are in this world...