Not to marginalize anyone's situation, but I can't help but point out that if someone "literally" breaks his back, that person has a broken back. Not a tired back, not a sore back, but one with cracked vertebrae, torn ligaments, perhaps even a severed spinal cord. That person has serious medical problems. It is highly unlikely that a person could have his back broken everyday and survive for very long.

I fell under the new retirement age so I cannot retire and collect social security until I am 70 but the way things are going, I doubt it will be there for me to collect.

In these uncertain economic times the logic behind taking a buyout (unless you are already eligible for retirement) baffles me. I would just as soon have a job.
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Unknown .... you make a few good points but please find a spell checker. Wow.

Cardtrader ... unplug your keyboard, your ignorance is showing.

I get a little tired of hearing how nobody at GM works hard. The fact is that some workers do and some workers don't. It's just like any other job. The GM worker in my life is literally breaking his back everyday to get badgered by people who really have no idea what goes on at the plant but would like to judge anyways.

Yes, they make good money. You know what? A lot of them earn it.

Hey unknown the reason that the auto workers seem to be the only ones getting the buyouts is because all the other companies just shut the doors and move overseas. You can blame the unions all you want but if it were not for the union there would be no buyout just hit the door.

Just to let you know I do work there and have 8 years in and will possibly be laid off for a short time myself.

Chip, I can guarantee you that just because you have more than 30 years in at the plant doesn't mean you will retire. A lot depends on your family situation. My husband has 32 years and we still have very young children at home. There is no way he can take a buyout. If GM REALLY wanted people with more than 30 years out, they would have offered more.

For everyones info there is 584 employees with 30 or more years of service at the Janesville location. That should give an idea of the amount that will probably retire.

cardtrader:

What does one personal habits have to do with the fact that GM is losing money in NorthAmerica? I doubt your anecdotal evidence of gm employees "living high on the hog" is statistically relevant.

GM is losing money in NA becuase their cost structure is too high GM workers can thank their union for the high wages, good benefits, and the likely risk that their jobs will end. This is the risk one takes in letting someone else negotiate your value. When you kill the golden goose, it cannot lay anymore eggs.

I know some people who took the buyout and are having a hard time finding another job. They feel that they aren't hired because of the wages they used to make and that they will be expecting to make the same.

cardtrader-If you know anyone working for 5.75/hr you may want to let them know the WI min. wage is $6.50.

The problem I see is that most people who work at (The Plant) live high on the hog way above there means, and so retirement is not a option, and besides when your making that kind of money for the work they do it's hard to walk away. Sure beats working a real job for $5.75 hr. and they still complain that they are over worked and under paid.

I don't know anyone who is currently working at the GM plant, but I used to hear stories of a lot of people who had their 30 years in but were still working (signed too many loans/mortgages, or didn't have a life outside the plant, etc.). Any readers have an idea if there are many/any still working today who could take full retirement, or what the average age of the Janesville workers is?

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Back around 1990, I took a tour of the John Deere plant in Moline Iowa. The majority of the day shift workers were already senior citizens. One of today's employment problems is that people are living longer. Retirement didn't come until nearer the end of life for many Americans. Today, in addition to politicans letting in too many people into the country, and businesses pushing too many jobs out of the country, people are working more years of their life than they used to, so there is less turnover for existing jobs.