The open secret of (Toyota's) success

Re:The open secret of (Toyota's) success by misterbwong on Wednesday May 07, 2008 @02:04PM (#183597)

Every time I read about the failing American automakers, I wonder how much of their downfall can be attributed to the cost of their unionized workers' benefits and salaries. I heard somewhere (probably a hyperbole) that 60%+ of the cost of manufacturing a GM car can be attributed to the company's payment of pensions/retirement money. Does anyone happen to know where I can get data about this?

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Re:The open secret of (Toyota's) success by gibsonf1 on Wednesday May 07, 2008 @04:37PM (#183832)

Toyota can use their expensive workers to do the same work in 50% of the time with 80% higher quality. That is where the real savings are.

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Re:The open secret of (Toyota's) success by kingkongrevenge on Wednesday May 07, 2008 @06:03PM (#183919)

The whole point here is that Toyota's workers are much cheaper. That's a fact.

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Re:The open secret of (Toyota's) success by Xichekolas on Wednesday May 07, 2008 @06:39PM (#183958)

Each worker isn't much cheaper. My dad retired from GM in 2005, and the Toyota plants here in the US pay $1/hr less than he made. There is a decent discrepancy in health insurance, but not enough to totally justify the difference.

The key is what gibsonf1 pointed out. Each worker at Toyota is much more productive than each worker at GM (and most likely other companies).

They also benefit from a halo around them of 'superior quality'. I'm not entirely sure if a big quality difference actually still exists (it definitely did once), but in the minds of many, Toyota will always be the 'reliable choice' which allows them to charge more for their vehicles than GM can for it's equivalent.

It also didn't help that GM made ugly cars for years, and even today is only marginally improving. I sincerely hope the Volt actually happens as planned, both for nerdy reasons, and because it'd be nice if GM didn't blow a golden opportunity to save itself (and my dad's retirement).

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Re:The open secret of (Toyota's) success by kingkongrevenge on Monday May 12, 2008 @10:11AM (#187582)

You are overlooking retiree benefits. GM workers are much more expensive. The per car cost of current retiree medical benefits is staggering.

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Re:The open secret of (Toyota's) success by run4yourlives on Wednesday May 07, 2008 @04:49PM (#183844)

That is a real number. Look at GM's annual report.

Sweetheart deals by unions in the 70's prior to Japan coming into the picture are a part of what is causing GM to falter.

That doesn't explain their ugly ass cars though.

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