Report: Toyota to end Calif. joint venture with GM

[jannyk]

Source: SFGate

Toyota Motor Corp. has decided to liquidate its stake in a California manufacturing plant that it jointly operated with General Motors, a Japanese news agency reported Thursday.

Nummi's fate was thrown into question last month when GM announced it was withdrawing from the 50-50 joint venture. GM emerged from bankruptcy protection shortly after the announcement and the company's stake in NUMMI is now part of Motors Liquidation Co. — also known as Old GM — where it will be liquidated under court supervision.

The NUMMI plant, established in 1984, employs 4,600 workers and makes the Pontiac Vibe station wagon for GM, and the Corolla compact car and Tacoma pickup truck for Toyota.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/07/23/financial/f081144D15.DTL&tsp=1#ixzz0M6jBmyQU



Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/07/23/financial/f081144D15.DTL&tsp=1

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More lousy news from California.
The plant is only 5 miles from our place, I know people that have worked there for years. Everyone was hoping that Toyota would continue w/out GM, but....

[Taverner]

1. Awww fuck they're closing NUMMI???

Jeezus fuck! That place employs THOUSANDS!!!

[jannyk]

2. yep, close to 5,000. nt

[kirby]

Wasn't this the plant

that all the Repukes spoke about when they were opposing the auto-bailout? I remember them saying how NUMMI was a model plant with lower costs, etc.

[Taverner]

5. And 100% Union (something they DIDN'T say)

[musette_sf]

6. actually Dem rep Stark spoke about it

when he opposed the auto bailout.

[high density]

3. Maybe Toyota will have better luck selling their cars in India and China

USA seems to be hell bent at maximizing domestic job losses.

[musette_sf]

4. hey neighbor

:hi:
this news is Teh Suck. Torrico and Stark need to step in on this. maybe a better partner than Toyota? i think their products have become crappier over the years. it would be a shame to let this facility go to waste, and to screw all the workers.

[WriteDown]

7. Where are the Toyota defender's now?

The "company for the people" has just sent 5K packing.

[imdjh]

9. I'm president of ANTS

Apple, Nikon, Toyota, Sony. So sue me for liking durable products.

If the Ford Ranger had a lifetime drivetrain warranty I would have bought it instead of the Taco.

[WriteDown]

10. Nikon is a great company with no real US counterpart...

Have the D3 and a D300. Sony is the king of proprietary formats though. Apple is overpriced and monopolistic. A warranty is actually a decent reason to buy an auto. I prefer to support union-labor though.

[imdjh]

15. Yeah, but I checked on the Tacoma before I bought it

.....and from what I read it was built in a union shop in Fremont California.

All but one of my other cars over the years was either a hand me down or purchased used, so does it matter what kind they were?

[Kolesar]

20. I installed two Sony radios in my car and removed them both

One quit working after a week and the other had temperature problems when summer came. Sony is way overrated.

[Hannah Bell]

13. predictable result of the gm bankruptcy. foreign makers in the us will

reduce conditions to the equivalent of domestics.

why should toyota keep its higher-cost nummi labor now that gm's paying $15 starting & no bennies?

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

17. Umm...

Nummi's fate was thrown into question last month when GM announced it was withdrawing from the 50-50 joint venture.

This is Toyota's fault how, exactly?

[Nihil]

21. "This is Toyota's fault how, exactly?"

Simply because it mentioned the name "Toyota".

Nobody gives a shit that GM were the ones that broke it.

They all prefer to cut the nose off their face and celebrate
that Toyota aren't building those cars (with US union workers)
in the US any more.

:shrug:

[blue_onyx]

22. Seriously?

I was wondering how long it would take for people to blame this on GM too. Toyota could easily keep the plant open if they wanted. This decision is Toyota's, not GM's.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

27. It was a joint venture. GM pulled out because GM is a bankrupt.

Guess what? If GM hadn't fucked itself in the ass, that plant would not be closing.

[blue_onyx]

29. Bullshit

GM made the decision that was best for them. Toyota is making the best decision for them. Each company is responsible for the decision they make.

Toyota had planned to build a new plant in Mississippi to build the Prius. Toyota could produce the Prius at the NUMMI plant (instead of building a new plant) to make up for the lost production volume.

Clearly you are too blinded by your worship of Toyota to hold them responsible for their own decisions.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

30. I don't particularly like Toyota cars.

I just think blaming Toyota exclusively for this plant closure is pretty fucking dumb.

[blue_onyx]

33. And yet you blame GM exclusively

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

36. No I don't.

I just think it's silly to blame Toyota exclusively, when it was GM who pulled out first. There's plenty of blame to go around.

[Romulox]

24. "Fault"? You sound like a 5 year old. This was a BUSINESS DECISION;

"fault" doesn't have anything to do with it. :hi:

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

28. I was responding to the previous post...

...which blamed Toyota for the loss of 5,000 jobs while ignoring GM's role in this debacle.

[Romulox]

31. The People of California's voracious apetite for imported automobiles are "to blame"

if some silly concept of "blame" is the issue.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

37. I love this "blame the consumer" mentality.

Also, I get confused by your arguments, and the arguments of your associate, Mr. BrainDamaged. On the one hand you swear up and down that GM is selling cars like hotcakes, and that sales are not the problem. Then on the other hand you blame consumers for buying foreign automobiles. Which is it? These two concepts are mutually exclusive, yet you expect us to subscribe to both of them, else we are somehow "shills" for foreign auto manufacturers.

If you presented an argument that was logically coherent you might find more people willing to accept it.

[Romulox]

38. Did you miss the part where I said that your concept of "blame" is infantile in the first place?

Think "cause and effect" when talking about politics; discuss "blame" with your pastor or priest.

"If you presented an argument that was logically coherent you might find more people willing to accept it."

What argument are you talking about? The Toyota plant isn't profitable, so it is closing. There is no argument. :hi:

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

39. You might have a point if I were the one who brought up the concept of blame.

But since the only things I was trying to do in this thread were correct the misconceptions of some people who chose to blame (yes, "blame") Toyota for the plant closing, or insinuate that this was not a UAW plant, you really don't have a leg to stand on. You've done nothing in this thread but attack my character and insinuate some kind of historical douchebaggery on my part (without actually substantiating it) so I really see no point in continuing this line of discussion.

[imdjh]

8. Save the Taco Homeland

Seriously, Tacoma and the other vehicle made there are extremely popular vehicles. Surely it's worthwhile to keep this plant running, so my guess is that Toyota wants some grease.

My Taco was built in that plant, I was hoping to take her to see her birthplace next year.

[blue_onyx]

11. Too bad

I was hoping that Toyota would start building the Prius there to make up for the lost production volume from when GM pulled out of the joint venture.

I wonder where they will move the production of the Corolla and Tacoma? Hopefully not out of the US.

[Codeine]

12. Even if they keep it in the US

it won't involve UAW labor anymore, so fuck 'em. I love Corollas, but this means I'll never buy another.

[avaistheone1]

14. This is terrible news. I have a couple friends who work there who have young families that

they support. This loss will be truly devastating for them.

[excess_3]

16. Toyota is non-union, good riddance .n/t

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

18. It's a UAW plant, genius.

This is good for nobody.

[excess_3]

19. the union jobs would be lost either way

there is no way that toy would sign on with
the union

[Name removed]

25. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

26. Oh, good lord, here it comes.

Yes, disagreeing with YOU = I hate the UAW. :eyes:

[Romulox]

32. I invite anyone to search for your name. Your comments speak for themselves.

And btw: :cry:

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

35. By all means, be my guest.

Because you won't find much criticism of the UAW in my posts. I have no quarrel with the UAW, with the exception of some of their previous positions of fuel efficiency standards. What you will find in my posts quite consistently is criticism of GM's management, which is hardly the same thing as criticising the UAW.

Are there certain UAW members with which I have argued on this board? Yes, certainly. One in particular, (who will remain LameNess) has a habit of posting racist, xenophobic vitriol, and yes I take issue with that. But again, that's hardly the same thing as criticising the UAW itself. I don't hold them in any way responsible for the current problems of GM. Again, my issue is with GM management, not the UAW.

[Romulox]

23. This is a smart move. Toyota's customers don't care if the car is Made in USA, or by the UAW

They know that their customer don't care about Labor, so this move makes good business sense.

[Jack_DeLeon]

34. I hope they start building Tacomas in the San Antonio plant...

where they already build Tundras.