"blahblahblah"? What are we in the 4th grade?
"but they are unable/unwilling to restructure their business to compensate for the market changes"
This is absolutely, unbelieveably WRONG.
Just 3 things?? How about 6 off the top of my head. Keep in mind there are MANY more...that we don't know of due do us...*not* being in the business...
1: They've renegotiated contracts with the UAW, essentially replacing a lot of the older workers with lower-paid (half-paid, actually $15/hr) new guys.
2: They've shifted the massive healthcare burden onto the union, as well. In the form of this VEBA plan, GM has no obligation to pay out anymore healthcare costs for all those retired workers come 2010.
3: They've improved their product portfolio drastically. Nearly every new vehicle they've come out with in the past 3-4 years has been garnered with some sort of award, or recognition in quality. Their theory, as per Bob Lutz and others, is to build a great product and the money will come to them, as opposed to the old way of thinking: cut corners to save costs.
4: According to the guys in charge; 18 out of 19 new releases (or something like that) will be cars or crossovers...is that not shifted towards the market enough?
5: They've streamlined management, focusing the 8 brands into 4 heirarchys of management. Saving costs, and improving efficiency.
6: They've cut jobs (both white and blue collar), and closed slow plants to tighten up efficiency in order to save some dough.
Absolutely, I'm sure more can be done; and no -- they're not perfect. But that can be said of any business...If the housing market hadn't collapsed, gas prices hadn't shot through the roof for no reason, and the economy hadn't begun this implosion; in other words, if they hadn't been hit by this "perfect storm" as some like to call it, I believe there was a good chance GM was going to return to profitability if not this, then next year. Their vehicles are among the best on the market, and their advertising started to show it. But nobody is buying them right now...so none of it matters. The loans most likely meant to hold them over untill 2010 and a much improved market/economy...they've done nearly everything else already.