by Paul A. Eisenstein

(2005-05-30)

General Motors has just announced plans to consolidate three divisions, Buick, Pontiac, and GMC, into one giant marketing channel. It is pressing the United Autoworkers Union for concessions. And it is searching for other ways to cut costs. Some analysts believe the automaker could eventually close as many as three assembly plants. For years, GM has been struggling to reverse steady losses in sales. It now holds a barely 25 percent share, half what it had in the 1960s. Company officials are optimistic they can turn things around, but a growing number of observers aren't so sure. Some predict the automaker's share will slip to 20 percent. Gerry Meyers, a turnaround specialist and professor at theUniversity of Michigan fears the U.S. market will soon resemble Europe's, where no maker, not even GM, has much more than 15 percent. That would require a massive and painful restructuring. But GM executives insist it'll never happen. Perhaps, but they don't have much time left to prove they really can bring things under control.

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