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Tiny Aveo a big UAW challenge Two classes of vehicles -- compact cars and subcompacts -- are obstacles to Bob King's challenge to sell the UAW as a capable, affordable work force. King is confident that high-volume compact cars such as the Ford Focus and Chevrolet Cruze can be built profitably by UAW workers. But he has doubts about the ability of General Motors and the UAW to build the Chevrolet Aveo, a lower-priced subcompact, profitably in the plant retooling in Lake Orion. "I don't know if it is a fair expectation to be able to get the Aveo to profitability," the UAW president told the Free Press. "Maybe if I could replay it, I would want to replay it. ... I wasn't at the table at the time." Last year, GM agreed to build the Aveo in Michigan instead of importing it from a lower-wage country in exchange for UAW concessions ahead of its bankruptcy. The car will launch in mid-2011 as the smallest assembled in the U.S. -- making it the most intense test of Detroit automakers' abilities to build small cars profitably in their home country with union labor. Both GM and the UAW wanted to prove to the world that they could build a small car profitably in the U.S. Cathy Clegg, GM's vice president of labor relations, said GM's manufacturing team is working with the UAW to innovate so the union-built Aveo will be successful. "We knew that bringing a product for the small car segment to a U.S. plant would be a challenge," she said. King said he would rather see U.S. plants get to assemble the SUVs and pickups built in Silao, Mexico. Large vehicles with bigger profit margins better offset labor costs. Even if the UAW-built Aveo doesn't make money, the subcompact still could be profitable worldwide, partially because it's a global car. Its development costs will be spread across several sales and production regions. Contact CHRISSIE THOMPSON: 313-222-8784 or cthompson@freepress.com |