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Unit7GM'sDifficultRoadAheadEpisode1Iftheoldsaying“what’sgoodforAmericanisgoodforGeneralMotorandviceversa”isstilltrue,weareallinalotoftrouble.GeneralMotorsislimpingalonginthebreakdownlane,inneedofalotmorethanaminortune-up.WithGM’sstocktradingnearanalltimelowanditsbondsratedasjunk,thecompanyreportedlossesofmorethan$10billionlastyear.Unlessitstopshemorrhagingmoney,itwillhavetobetowedintobankruptcycourt—aconsequencethatcouldcascadethroughtheAmericaneconomy,threateninguptoamillionjobsandchangingthedreamsofAmericanworkers.*GeneralMotorsisnotjustanothercompany.Foralmostacentury,itwasemblematicofAmericanindustrialdominance,withacarforeverycustomerandabrandforeverystratumofsociety.***BackwhenPontiacswereassexyasSinatraandCadillacthesynonymforluxury,GMmadehalfthecarsintheUnitedStates.Andajobononeofitsassemblylineswasaticketintothemiddleclass.Butthatwasbeforethefirstoilshock,andtheJapaneseimports.Today,GeneralMotorsislosing$24millionaday—and***allbetsareoff.Cole:**Andthisisnotaphantomcrisisorafakecrisis.Thisisarealcrisis.DavidColeischairmanoftheCenterforAutomotiveResearch,anon-profitconsultingfirminAnnArborMichigan.Heiswidelyconsideredoneoftheindustry’stopanalysts,andbelievesthatDetroitisnowfacingwhatthesteelindustryandthebigairlineshavealreadybeenthrough:highlaborcoststhatmakeitalmostimpossibletocompete.Cole:AndeveryoneoftheBigThreefacesaproblemrightnowofabout$2000to$2500pervehicleproducedcostdisadvantage.**Ifthatplaysoutovertime,they’realldead.Correspondent:Changeordie.Cole:It’schangeordie.Everythingisdrivenbyaprofitablebusiness.Ifyoucan’tbeprofitable,youcan’tbeinbusiness.Episode2:Wagoner:Thisisamid-sizedcar,theChevyImpalaSS…IthascertainlynotescapedtheattentionofGeneralMotorschairmanRickWagoner,whowemetattheDetroitAutoShowandmayhavethetoughestjobinAmerica:runningacorporationmanyanalystsbelievehasbecome,toobig,toobloatedandtooslowtocompetewithmorenimbleforeigncompetitors.Correspondent:HowdidGeneralMotorsgettothepointwhereitisrightnow?Wagoner:‘Causewehavealonghistory,almost100years.Wehavealotofemployees.Wehavealotofretirees,alotofdependents.Andpromisesweremadeaboutbenefitstothosepeoplethatweren’tveryexpensivewhentheyweremade.Andit’sreallygivenussomefinancialchallenges.OneofthemisthatmostofthepeopleonGM’spayrollarenolongermakingcars.Everymonth,itsendsoutnearlyahalfmillionpensioncheckstoformerworkers,manyofwhomretiredintheir50safter30yearsofserviceandliveincommunitieswhereGMplantsclosedlongago.Thenthereistheever-risingcostofhealthcare.GMhasoneofthemostgenerousplansinAmericaandprovidesitto1.1millionpeople—retirees,workersandtheirdependentsatacostof$6billionayear.MorethananycompanyinAmerica.GaryChaison,aprofessorofindustrialrelationsatClarkUniversity,hasdonethemath:Chaison:Itcomestoabout$1400acarnow.that’swhatthehealthcarepremiumsoftheworkerswhomakethatcaris.Correspondent:Morethatsteel?Chaison:Yeah.Muchmorethansteel,muchmorethanglass,muchmorethananyotherpart.Whatyou’redoingwhenyou’rebuyingacarisyou’respendingalotofmoneyforthehealthcarebenefitsofworkerswhoaremakingthatcar.It’scostmostofGM’sforeigncompetitorsdon’thavebecausetheirworkersareusuallycoveredbysomeformofgovernmenthealthinsuranceintheirowncountries.RickWagonersaysit’soneofthepromisesmadetoworkers,ingoodtimes,thatitcanbarelyaffordinbad.Episode3:Correspondent:Doyouthinkthatthosepromisescanbekept?Wagoner:Well,wefeelaresponsibilitytothepeoplethatthosepromisesweremadeto.Wealsohavearesponsibilitytoinsurethatourbusinessissuccessfulinthefuture.ThefuturelookssobleakthattheUnitedAutoWorkers,theunionthatrepresentsGM’shourlyworkers,agreedlastyeartogivebacksomehard-wonconcessions,whichincludeda$1anhourcost-of-livingraiseforactiveworkers,andrequiredretireestopayuptoseveralhundreddollarsayeartowardsmedicalinsurancethathadalwaysbeenfree.UAWPresidentRonGettelfingersaysitwaspainfulbutnecessary.Correspondent:Wasithardtosell?Gettelfinger:Sureitwashardtosell.Firstofall,itwashardforustoconvinceourselvesthatweneededtodosomething.Itwasnottheeasydecisiontomake,butitwasarightdecisiontomakeinthelongterm.Becauseourconcernisthelong-termviabilityofourmembershipbothactiveandretiredwhenitcomestotheirbenefitsortotheirwagelevels.Andtheconsensusistheunionmayhavetogiveupalotmore,eitherbeforeorduringnextyear’scontractnegotiations,ifGeneralMotorsistoavoidbankruptcy—anoutcomethatcouldallowthecompanytoscrapitslaboragreements,slashwagesandpassoffitspensionobligationstothefederalgovernment.Cole:IfyouorIweregivenachoicebetweengoldandsilver,we’lltakethegoldeverytime.Goldisnolongeranoption.Thechoicethatthey’refacing,literally,isbetweenleadandsilver.Iftheydon’tdotherightthings,they’regonnagetlead.Silverisstillterrific.AndIthinkthat’swherewe’reheaded.Theindustrycanaffordsilver,buttheycannolongeraffordgold.Correspondent:Thisistheendofthecorporatewelfarestate?Cole:It’sthebeginningoftheend,bigtime.Episode4:GeneralMotorsisstillthelargestautomobilemanufactureintheworld,andmostexpertswilltellyouithasnevermadebettercarsandtrucks.Butitsmarketsharehasfallento24percent,andithastoomanyplantsandtoomanypeopleforthenumberof
本文标题:高级英语视听说第七单元文本-GMs-Difficult-Road-Ahead
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