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GM warns of more cuts in Europe as Brexit bites

5K views 74 replies 22 participants last post by  jesda1 
#1 ·
GM warns of more cuts in Europe as Brexit bites
US automaker expects extra $300m in losses from Britain’s decision to leave EU
Financial Times
Patti Waldmeir in Chicago and Peter Campbell in London
Oct. 25, 2016

General Motors has warned that it may cut car production further in Europe as a result of Britain’s vote to leave the European Union, as uncertainty caused by the vote dampens demand for new vehicles.

The Detroit-based carmaker vowed to “take whatever action is necessary” to offset the impact of the Brexit ballot, which already cost it $100m in the last three months due to currency shifts, taking the shine off a record quarter that saw its net income more than double.

General Motors is struggling to turn a profit in Europe, hampered by fierce competition and tight margins, in contrast with the US where demand for large SUVs and trucks has driven profitability.
*Full Article at Link
 
#2 ·
No, it's not Brexit. It's the fact that the EU is going down economically, and then some, due to years of sovereign debt and government spending to make up for low or negative economic growth. This affects the banks, the pension and the rest of the financial system in a big way. The smart brits want in a lifeboat early to paddle far enough away to prevent the getting caught in the whirlpool of the Titanic as it goes down
 
#10 ·
What facts? That the Brexit team had no plan and we are still waiting for one? "Brexit means Brexit" isn't much to work with.

Having no clue what happened after UK triggered A50, makes the foreign investors nervous as shown here: Brexit: leading banks set to pull out of UK early next year

More about the financial suicide here at the link: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/eu-referendum

Yes, I know it's "only" the Guardian, but after 20 years of anti-EU propaganda in the British media, they aren't the worst out of them.
 
#18 ·
That's the understatement of the year! We've spend several hundred years fighting regional domination on the European mainland by various power-crazed leaders.

It's as much the fault of UK politicians as European politicians but the Europe we joined was known as the "Common Market" - an economic union, not a political one, and if Brits had realised the true ambition of the original European Economic Community (EEC) was to become a political union we'd never have even applied to join.

I feel sure that "Leavers" like myself feel that some economic loss is inevitable if we leave the EU but we have to regain our sovereignty at all costs.
 
#13 ·
Brexit can be blamed for any Vauxhall reductions in sales but not directly for Opel sales - although since Opel builds most of the Vauxhalls, any reduction in Vauxhall volume will affect Opel profits.

GM (Vauxhall) has survived in the UK on fleet volumes which have always been under threat from other brands, and always will be as it's a competitive and sensitive market - but with very low interest rates since the global banking crisis it's residual values that are king in the UK fleet market, an area where Vauxhall lags behind significantly.

Sadly, the EU isn't democratic or even close to it - the original 6 members (Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and [West] Germany) have huge veto's so majority will means nothing on major issues - the 1973 enlargement (Denmark, Ireland and UK) included limited veto's but the subsequent 19 member states get no veto at all - the fact is that France and Germany wield far more power than 1 of 28 merits.
 
#27 · (Edited)
Yeah, imagine that!
The Army is currently deployed in over 80 countries around the world. Deployments vary in strength from single military advisors to full operational deployments.

...

Currently the major concentrations of British Forces in Germany are in
Herford Station - HQ 1st (United Kingdom) Armoured Division
Bergen-Hohne Garrison - 7th Armoured Brigade
Paderborn Garrison - 20th Armoured Brigade
Gütersloh Garrison - 102 Logistics Brigade
Rhine Garrison - HQ British Forces Germany

...

The prairie of Alberta has provided an excellent opportunity for the British Army to train on a large scale since 1972. The British Army Training Unit Suffield (BATUS) is an organisation situated on one of the most sparsely populated areas of the Alberta plain.

BATUS is equipped with in excess of 1000 vehicles including a full complement of Challenger 2 tanks and Warrior Infantry Fighting Vehicles. Each year a Regiment is sent there for six months to take the part of the 'enemy' for the other Regiments that are there to train each year.

The training area at BATUS is equivalent in size to the combined area all of the main training areas used by British Army in the UK and in Europe; Salisbury Plain Training Area would fit in 7 times over. 5 Battlegroups, each containing approx 1400 soldiers, are trained at BATUS each year.

Source: British Ministry of Defence
Anyway, this whole brexit circus is quite interesting to watch.

I wonder how long before GM start making their European operations "slimmer but stronger, and more efficient". Will they wait for the next Astra, or will they pull the pin as soon the current model reaches the maturity and decline stage? Vivaro will probably switch from Renault to PSA at some stage.

BTW, the first victim is 12U.
 
#26 ·
The EU, while it encroached on the sovereignty of its members, streamlined business by standardizing trade, regulations, and the movement of capital (including human).

Taking that way does add a layer of difficulty. People are overreacting but until everything is sorted, the potential barriers to entry and commerce cause anxiety.
 
#74 · (Edited)
Disagree. Where pray tell is it written that one must take a truly Terrible / Bankster drawn version of an 'EU' in order to have sensible trade relations between Nations - voluntarily ?

I see nothing wrong with countries wanting to stay their own country.
I applaud the British.
Let France be French, let Italy be Italian, let Germany be German.
Just because the US started as a melting pot doesn't mean it is the right thing for everyone else.

There is freedom and pride with being who you are. Not being told you have to change for others.
Well said.

All this EU stuff was just meant to deal with this Geographical Area - as a necessary component for the Globe @ Large.

If there has been one unequivocal theft - besides the Money of course behind all this crappy Banksterism, it the cleverly constructed Centralism - and the natural, actually far more efficient ( net ) 'diversity' it takes away literally across every single level of Human existence and activity - and for more than a few now - "thought".

--

Iceland in so many ways .... FTW.

Personally, I'm old and tired and not the same as well, long ago..... but fortunately, I have learned a few things as well.


There is a time and place and this is most definitely one of those..... where the best thing to do is to decapitate the Snake.

Or if you prefer, pull the big, base root up and out.


---


Always impressed with the discussions @ GMI in these kinds of threads but reality is ..... if you do not do or eventually get to the above ..... you will never ever 'win'.

Oddest thing about it..... actually easypeasy to do..... and could be done very rapidly and relatively painlessly compared to all other alternatives. Which most definitely is meant to include all the way over to - "do nothing".
 
#30 ·
That's to keep hostile external forces out of Europe, which begs the question about the purpose of the new army. As for this thread, there may be advantages to moving production between Opel and Vauxhall to take advantage of exchange rates, all other factors held constant
 
#31 ·
US automaker expects extra $300m in losses from Britain’s decision to leave EU
It's okay, GM can make up the difference by selling us more Chinese Buicks and Cadillacs.

I still wonder if they'll vote again. So much down side and harm will come from leaving the EU
Only if constructive advancement takes a backseat to punishing the UK.

They will not, This is a people that really never wanted to be in EU, they refused to drop the pound and are not interested in German rule,
Or being governed by unelected foreign bureaucrats and overrun by the third world, further burdening the working population and federal budgets and diluting what's left of British culture.
 
#47 ·
I see nothing wrong with countries wanting to stay their own country.
I applaud the British.
Let France be French, let Italy be Italian, let Germany be German.
Just because the US started as a melting pot doesn't mean it is the right thing for everyone else.

There is freedom and pride with being who you are. Not being told you have to change for others.
 
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