GM’s appetite feeding at the public trough has no limits. The company, already the second most heavily subsidized corporation in America, is getting a low-cost $2.5 billion loan from the Department of Energy to build battery cell plants with a joint venture partner. In my mind the loan is wasteful and risky as I’m doubtful GM can survive if electric vehicles are the future.
Who is ultimately to blame for the dismal state of U.S. airline travel? Warning: You probably won’t like the answer.
Amazon’s acquisition of One Medical primary care clinics this week marked another dark moment in the ongoing decline of U.S. healthcare. Consumers who are fed up with the dismal state of U.S. airlines would be wise to heed this warning.
In his March State of the Union address and again last month, President Biden was celebrating Ford’s commitment to invest in America and expand its workforce here.
Bloomberg reported today that Ford is looking to cut as much as 26 percent of its salaried workforce in the U.S. Meanwhile, the company has significantly expanded its engineering and other critical operations in Mexico and India.
It’s a wonder how Ford keeps track of all its recalls and lawsuits, which are sprouting like dandelions. Three lawsuits with damning allegations about Ford vehicles were reported last week, and the company was forced to recall more than 100,000 vehicles because of engine fire incidents. Ford has pioneered what literally could become a killer category: Vehicle Flambe.
Little wonder that Steven Croley, Ford’s impressively credentialed chief legal counsel, reports directly to CEO Jim Farley and an influential board member.
A man’s word was once his bond. In walking away from his previously unconditional commitment to acquire Twitter, Elon Musk has demonstrated that character in business no longer matters.
Since developing an interest in healthcare more than two years ago, I’ve come to appreciate the industry is rife with very bad people who do very bad things. The New York Times revealed last week that McKinsey & Company deserves a special place in hell for its critical role facilitating the opioid crisis that killed nearly 500,000 Americans.
Fortunately for McKinsey, the best penalty multistate attorneys general could collectively muster was a paltry $573 million settlement.
The top executives of Stellantis, whose U.S. brands include Jeep, Ram, and Chrysler, on Wednesday warned the auto industry is in danger of collapse if the prices of electric vehicles don’t significantly decline. Supply chain and materials’ shortages makes that scenario unlikely.
Underscoring the cluelessness of the U.S. leadership driving the accelerated conversion to electric vehicles, Reuters reported this morning that a proposed California tax on lithium mining could lead to additional shortages and stifle the U.S. lithium mining industry before it begins. China already controls the global EV materials supply chain.
The ineptness of America’s energy leadership comes as no surprise to Michigan residents who lived in the state between 2003 and 2011.
When I worked in PR, I advised clients there was a 99 percent chance of pulling the wool over reporters’ eyes, but it was ill advised to risk the unlikely one percent. Bloomberg writer Hannah Elliott has taught GM the wisdom of my counsel.
I’ve learned never to bet against Elon Musk, but it seems reasonable to ask if he can forever sell problem-plagued vehicles typical of GM and Ford without serious brand and financial consequences.
Regardless, it’s a sad commentary on America’s stature in the world when Europeans regard China as the gold standard in electric vehicle manufacturing.