More Signs of Trouble

News article, such as the one that follows, signal take-aways and reduced compensation for workers. As in the case of United Airlines and U.S. Airlines and soon to follow Delta Airlines it may mean loss of jobs and benefits altogether. To avoid this situation workers need to demand competent management that acts ethically and in good faith.

GM, Ford credit rated junk
BY JAMIE BUTTERS and JEFFREY McCRACKEN
DETROIT FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITERS

May 6, 2005

Automotive icons General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. fell into junk-bond status Thursday for the first time in either company's history, as the nation's leading credit-rating agency said the combination of plunging SUV sales and rising health care costs made it nervous about the automakers' futures.

Though widely expected, the decision by Standard & Poor's Corp. to downgrade both automakers is a historic marker on Detroit's bumpy road.

In the short term, it could make borrowing more difficult and more costly for GM and Ford at the same time they are losing market share at home to Asian automakers, seeing sales of their most-profitable vehicles soften, and trying to deal with some of the largest retiree and health care debts in the country.

Find the rest of the story at http://www.freep.com/money/autonews/cuts6e_20050506.htm