Less than two years after entering bankruptcy, General Motors will extend millions of dollars in bonuses to most of its 48,000 hourly workers as a reward for the company's rapid turnaround after it was rescued by the government.
The payments, disclosed Monday in company documents, are similar to bonuses announced last week for white-collar employees. The bonuses to 76,000 American workers will probably total more than $400 million -- an amount that suggests executives have increasing confidence in the automaker's comeback.
Most of GM's hourly workers will get a record payment of more than $4,000 -- more than double the previous record in 1999, at the height of the boom in sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks. Nearly all 28,000 white-collar workers such as engineers and managers will get 4 to 16 percent of their base pay. A few -- less than 1 percent -- will get 50 percent or more.
First Wall St, now Detroit, the TARP bailouts to bonuses saga continues. Showing that the rules only apply to the little people that can't make six figure campaign contributions. How is the American taxpayers involuntary investment in GM and Chrysler going anyhow?
"Since the taxpayers helped these companies out of bankruptcy, the taxpayers should be repaid before bonuses go out," said Republican Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa. "It sends a message that those in charge take shareholders, in this case the taxpayers, for a sucker."
The government has been repaid $23 billion but needs $26.4 billion more to recoup its whole investment. The government still owns 500 million shares of GM common stock, which would have to sell for roughly $53 per share to get all the money back.
GM closed at $36 today, our payback is a long time away, if ever. The UAW is getting a sweet bonus and we're getting the shaft. Our Congressional delegation was justifiably outraged and mugged for the cameras when Wall St. announced their bonuses but they seem eerily silent now.
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