Love that John Deere Green!

Thats what these 800 salaried employees are saying! That works out to about $125,000 per employee. But what a smoothe move, that is predicticted to save them $75 million first year. You know what sounds like a good deal does not always work out to be so. Yeah, that money sounds great for the empoyees up front but can they replace the job they lost, can they make as much somewhere else that they are making now. What about the benefits? Heath insurance alone can eat you up. Again, I believe the little guy is getting the short end of the stick, how come we think short term, companies think long term. We have got to change our focus.......whats the benefit in the long haul. Lets hope these 800 employees are close to retirement, or in positions which they can easily market themseleves so they too can continue to experience the .....green.

Poor Bernard!

Well, could not start my day without posting a comment about the anticipation we are all feeling regarding the sentencing of Bernard Madoff today. Even though he will probably get life sentence for what he has done to thousands of hard working Americans who actually earned their money that is still not going to ease the burden, the troubles that so many who trusted him are facing. The true irony of this all is that he is still without any remorse......he feels like he owes no one person an explanation! And he still won't cooperate! He did not rip off all these people by himself there are arrogant crooks out there that worked with him and he's protecting them. I believe what concerns me the most and erodes my trust in the financial system is his attitude. He felt as if he was above the law, above us all. That he was owed what he was getting. I know some arrogant bankers, stock brokers who act that same way. Will our system ever be safe?

Michigan ahead of the curve in retraining!

GE Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt announced at a news conference in Birmingham on Friday that his company would create 1,200 jobs this year and there would be more to come at its new $100-million center for advanced manufacturing technology and software in Van Buren Township.

Take notice America! The jobs are going where there is technology! If you can not use a computer, if you do not know what things like CAD is or Computer aided machine tooling is, computer aided welding........you are behind the ball and if your state or local municipality is not training your workforce with these special talents then industry is not looking. Technology needs to start in high school. Students need training to utilize computers and the new technologies that big business is going to need. Kudo's to Michigan for creating a workforce which won out in the end. The high paying jobs are going to those with the knowledge and ability to meet industrys needs for the 21 st century.

Blue Collars survive layoffs!

NEW YORK (AP) — A bankruptcy judge on Thursday ruled that a group representing General Motors Corp.'s salaried retirees cannot form a formal committee to negotiate with the automaker as it attempts to reorganize and emerge from Chapter 11 as a new company.

U.S. Judge Robert Gerber said that since GM had the right to modify or terminate the retirees' health care and life insurance benefits before they filed for bankruptcy protection, the retirees can't challenge the automaker's ability to do so now.

Now lets take a look at this guys, these guys make all the bucks for their entire career and now while in retirement they want the ability to renegotiate their contracts in retirement. Wonder how many blue collars whom have retired would like to do the same thing. Give me a break!!

Huggies and tissue-maker Kimberly-Clark Corp.said Thursday the company will cut 1,600 positions from its global work force. The reduction includes 600 employees who accepted voluntary severance packages earlier this year.

Irving, Texas-based Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB) said the cuts will save $150 million annually. The company has yet to confirm if or how many cuts will occur in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

About 750 jobs will be cut in the United States. with the reductions occurring in Europe and other international locations. The layoffs will affect salaried and nonproduction jobs; manufacturing facilities are not part of the reductions, Kimberly-Clark said.

Give a Hand to Kimberly-Clark! Lets cut the fat guys......the people who make the products keep their jobs. More companys need to start looking at where their fat is at! The guys on the bottom are not costing the company, they are making the company money, and they know how!! lets cut the fat which due to the poor decision making ability of some of these yo yo's has run some good companies into the ground and profits down with it. I'm like Buffett I believe in the ability of the American worker, he or she can make a product like no other one in the world if given the freedom and opportunity to do so.

Monsanto saves the blue collar's!

Monsanto Co. said Wednesday that it’s creating a separate division for its Roundup and other herbicides business and also plans to cut 900 employees across the company as part of a restructuring to be completed in fiscal 2010. Hey do you not just love what these companies can do in the name of "restructuring".......900 employees are going to face the ax so that the bottom line looks better.......i wonder how many of that 900 are going to be white collar jobs?

New home sales were 32.8% below the same month a year ago, when the estimate stood at a 509,000 annual rate! No joke!........that's because the market is saturated with repo's........companys that built nothing but the houses no one can afford! Where I live homes from 90-100k are going like wild fire!......over 300 permits already this year locally......how come.......building homes the people can afford........and they are buying them........the big ones are setting!