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GM electrician fired for Camaro cell phone pics
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How does he defend himself when he clearly broke the rules? It's not like they fired him for having a camera phone with no pictures on it in his pocket. If he wanted pics for the kids, he should have discussed it with his manager and gotten some sort of permission.
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Duh!!!!!!!!!
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Actually, he posted before I did. So technically, I was the repost.
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What's the big deal? GM has been driving these things around the streets with no camouflage for a while. What's the big secret now? The headlights?
Do the crime, do the time. It doesn't matter whether nothing secret was revealed. The dude violated a clear and necessary policy, and he's being punished. Sometimes, you have to make an example of someone to deter others from engaging in the same activity in the future. If this guy loses his job for taking pictures of things, even not-so-secret things, perhaps other GM employees will think twice before snapping photos of truly secret things.
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The fact that he broke strict rules!!! It is sad to see something like that happen. Especially if it was an honest mistake and he really just wanted to show his grandkids. But regardless if it was an honest mistake, He should of never taken the pics.
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He would never have gotten permission from the plant manager.
Bottom line: No cameras or camera phones MEANS no cameras or camera phones. Even if the Camaro's been testing without camo for months now, GM isn't taking any chances. The public and the media have already shown their ability to spot out things in pictures when GM lets them. How many times have we seen some article about "Redesigned (insert car here) in background of picture of design facility?"
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Surely they could have found a way to penalise this guy for breaking the rules without having to fire him, 28 years experience is alot to lose, maybe he could have been suspended for 2-4 weeks with out pay and moved to another area, at least that way GM is showing they wont tolerate people breaking the rules, i could understand if they sacked him for taking a pic of a secret RWD Impala, just seems bit harsh, but rules are rules.
Just wondering though if GM would have sacked this guy if they werent in such a bad position with losing money and market share and not trying to get rid of so many workers??
Just wondering though if GM would have sacked this guy if they werent in such a bad position with losing money and market share and not trying to get rid of so many workers??
Being fired for this type of action is standard. I've seen guys fired just for taking a picture of a development car, without the picture ever making it out of GM. The only way to make rules like this stick is to make the punishment severe. Companies like GM spend billions on product development, and a careless employee with a camera can do a lot of damage.
It is truly unfortunate for this individual, but he knew the rules and chose to break them. He made the choice, he suffers the consequences.
It is truly unfortunate for this individual, but he knew the rules and chose to break them. He made the choice, he suffers the consequences.
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He actually got off easy. If GM were a Silicon Valley company, not only would the person be out of a job - he'd be sued for breach of contract as well. This has the double-whammy of destroying your career and ruining you financially. These terms are made clear when you accept employment.
Tech companies don't mess around with information leaks and intellectual property theft. GM shouldn't, either - especially when they have many smaller, more nimble competitors that can bring new ideas to the market faster.
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He should end up with a payment based on what his personal pension "account" is worth, but he will lose his benefits.
GM is much more strict regarding keeping future product secret than they used to be. They even roll trial vehicles thru the plant in car covers at CAMI.
The threat of termination is attatched to most discipline now, I guess the rest of the Oshawa workers will understand they are serious.
I agree for the most part... However even if GM sued, I doubt they would get much. They would have to show/prove financial damage. Now if GM had actually kept the Camaro a secret, then yeah, maybe they have a case.. But there are already leaks of the Camaro, and the entire car was featured on a block-buster movie.
Everybody and their brother already knew the Camaro was coming, and they pretty much already know what the car is going to look like. At least moreso than what is revealed with the pics in question.
Perhaps it's just lack of training tho. In our company, secrets are usually kept on a need-to-know basis, and aren't even allowed to be kept sitting around in a locked lab environment. We also have mandatory security training for all employees that interact with such "restricted" intellectual property. So each employee is well aware of the security policies in place, why they are in place, and what the consequences are.
For the "essentially" same car GM has been showing at the Auto show for the past 2 years!?
Is it really a secret at this point!? Are dealer going to have a hard time clearing out the previous model!?
Guess GM figures they will get more media coverage firing the guy than just letting the pictures filter out ……….
Is it really a secret at this point!? Are dealer going to have a hard time clearing out the previous model!?
Guess GM figures they will get more media coverage firing the guy than just letting the pictures filter out ……….
This wasn't simply posting pics of test cars on the road. He took pictures of the very sensistive internal workings of the plant. There is a lot of competitive intelligence that can be gleaned from those photos by competitors. This is why they fired him.
Harsh? Maybe. But necessary to stop this...What is more surprising is he got fired so quickly in a union shop and with 28 years of seniority! Not easy to do, unless you have absolutely clear rules. GM has some good lawyers...
Harsh? Maybe. But necessary to stop this...What is more surprising is he got fired so quickly in a union shop and with 28 years of seniority! Not easy to do, unless you have absolutely clear rules. GM has some good lawyers...
So it was because the pictures were of the inside of the plant, and not because it was of the car?
So the headlines should have read: GM electrician fired for taking pics of production equipment AT Camaro plant.
Gotcha, makes sense, I worked at a place for a while we had a policy like that; they checked phones at the door, if you went in the back. Since I worked there it wasn't as bad, but I'd be sure to keep it in my pocket.
So the headlines should have read: GM electrician fired for taking pics of production equipment AT Camaro plant.
Gotcha, makes sense, I worked at a place for a while we had a policy like that; they checked phones at the door, if you went in the back. Since I worked there it wasn't as bad, but I'd be sure to keep it in my pocket.
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