What Alcoa's moves really mean

re: What Alcoa's moves really mean

mark — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 23:02:40 GMT

When are you union employees going to wake up and smell the coffee? You guys/gals had your day, but now the economy can't afford you any more. Pure and simple. Alcoa is no different than the auto companies going through the same thing. You cry because the results of your union greed after all of these years is catching up to you. You now expect your sorry asses to be covered under lucrative union contracts and make the rest of us pay for it in the long run. It's because of your greed that drives companies to other countries. Don't blame it completely on NAFTA and CAFTA. You started it, so stop crying now that the economy you helped create is now molding your future. What did you expect? An endless pot of gold and benefits? Guess what....here is the end of the rainbow. Surprised it's an outhouse?

re: What Alcoa's moves really mean

Edge — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 13:45:19 GMT

From another Alcoan poised to lose his job - I don't think the communities can begin to understand how devastating the loss of jobs at alcoa will be. Over the years I have had "I hate my job" times when I have searched in vain to find a paycheck anywhere close to my Alcoa paycheck. We make good money, it comes out in blood sweat and tears and sometimes as much as 18 hr days on concrete floors but it is good pay. This money goes out to the community stores. When I think of what it means to all the of us.....I shake in my boots.

re: What Alcoa's moves really mean

John — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 01:11:58 GMT

While I do sympathize with several of the opinions posted here it seems that the real demon here is regularly overlooked. The fact that everyone wants more, regardless of whether they are willing to work for it, continues to be at the heart of most of the problems facing America. CEO's of publicly traded companies are over-compensated in today's culture because they continue to be the face on which hundreds of millions of investment dollars are placed daily. They are beholden to an exponentially larger shareholder base who they report to and push-come-to-shove, shareholders want higher stock prices....they want higher dividends. If it comes at the expense of some poor worker then you may want to consider that the next time you go asking your investment broker which stocks show promise for better growth. What you want may come at someone else's expense; the only problem is no one likes it when the shoe is on the other foot. I don't even want to get started on the whole UNION issue because it is and will continue to be the single largest problem facing domestic companies today. The working conditions that were present during the Industrial Revolution and the need for a workplace with fair employment practices that have been pretty well remedied by OSHA and the EEOA. The entire spirit of a union is one which says "we will band together to get what we want and if we don't get it, forget the company, we just won't work". TAKE A LOOK AMERICA...it didn't work for the steel industry, it has crippled the auto manufacturers and is ruining markets all over the U.S.

For those of you who think that O'Bama is simply going to remedy this situation by waving a majic wand and chanting "O Yes We Can" you are sorely O'mistaken!! Tighten your belts....we have several years of lean harvest ahead.

re: What Alcoa's moves really mean

TOM — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 23:14:02 GMT

NAFTA WHAT A JOKE ///

re: What Alcoa's moves really mean

mike — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 04:16:44 GMT

I currently work for alcoa and have for 11 yrs, one that good ole uncle al worries about is the bottom line. As they continue to break records from previous quarters we as workers have been instructed that all domestic spending would stop immediately, but spending would increase internationally name the facility purchased in Russia. Although, we stood firmly against this giant at the Cleveland works facililty, they paid bosses from within the facility and other facilities upwards 99.00's per hour just to teach the unoin workers that alcoa will spend millions just to keep the workers who dare stand against them a valuable and undeniable lesson American Workers carry no significance when it comes to the bottom line. So until someone corrects the current NAFTA agreement and we the people have some backing things will and are going to continue to get worse.

re: What Alcoa's moves really mean

wondering — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 04:15:56 GMT

i work for alcoa as well, and we're all wondering what tomorrow and the day after will hold for us. But what the author of this article didn't note or grasp is that alcoa is in a bad financial situation. The LME for aluminum has lost more than half of its value since july, so all of our facilities that were making huge profits in july (thus that 470 million quarter) have been losing huge amounts of money when the LME fell to around $1400 a ton. until metal prices rebound or at least move up to a level we can break even, layoffs will continue. And i think the 4th quarter earnings will give an example of how quick things went bad and only touch the iceberg on how bad they can go. Divesting our packaging division last year has made us a metals company again, and we're feeling the full effects of it right now whereas keeping the packaging, we might have buffered ourselves a little more.

Just because things were good in the last reported quarter, that definitely doesn't mean things will be good this reported quarter. and to stay afloat, these layoffs need to happen. I just hope i'm not one of them.

re: What Alcoa's moves really mean

workinginutah — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 03:34:06 GMT

My husband and I met at work at Alcoa, ten years later he still works there, but it has been bought out by SAPA. Hopefully SAPA is not going to do this to its employees. It breaks my heart because these are the real people, we are the ones working for a living scraping by during the good times but still loving our lives. I wish it would all get better, but greed and all of the rest of the crap has taken over....

re: What Alcoa's moves really mean

joeconsumer — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 02:41:27 GMT

Well said TBONE. I would like to add...blame the government...ask them for your bailout. Ask them to help small business. Ask them to help the consumer=customer to small business= customer to big business. With out all the small business...you have no big business. These big companys did what they must to do survive. It's a trickle down effect. If all the small businesses where helped, they would have money to support the big business. More small business , use more office supplies== business for HP. More PC's sold to small business==buisness for IBM.

More machine shops , machining parts from metal==business for Alcoa...or better yet...put money in the consumers pocket and tax him less so he can spend more=need for jobs to make products. See how it is all connected??

re: What Alcoa's moves really mean

TBONE — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 01:30:22 GMT

Why is it that people cant understand that companies layoff employees when there is no work for them. If they all did what GM did (Pay employees to sit and wait for work) they would wind up like GM! Would you hire a person to do your grass cutting in the middle of winter because he has no other Job??

re: What Alcoa's moves really mean

sarcastic sob — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 01:28:09 GMT

Making profit = bad, no one should be able to make a profit in America. All of the small businesses should also be forced to give up their profits. SPREAD THE WEALTH. I love russia.