Jobs and wages slide at U.S. automakers

DETROIT, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- As the Big Three U.S. automobile makers target job reductions for 2008, unions are hard pressed to maintain high factory wages, a report said Friday.

General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC have all announced plans to cut down their workforces, mostly through buyout programs.

The three automakers, among the core of the country's manufacturing sector, offer an average stating wage of $14 per hour, just more than half previous levels, the Christian Science Monitor reported.

Furthermore, "these jobs are going and they're not coming back," Gary Chaison, a labor expert at Clark University told the Monitor.

General Motors Corp, posted an industry record $38.7 billion in losses for 2007. Chrysler is targeting 10,000 jobs following a cutback of 13,000 workers. Further, the nation lost 3 million manufacturing jobs between 2000 and 2006, the report said.

But, there is a light at the end of the tunnel, analysts said.

Production remains steady. Exports are rising. With the dollar weak, American cars could travel far in markets abroad.

If cut backs increased efficiency, the Big Three could be make gains again.

"We believe we are in the early stages of a manufacturing renaissance," an economist at Merrill Lynch wrote recently.