Autoworker concessions may not be enough

DETROIT, Dec. 10 (UPI) -- Reducing labor costs for U.S. automakers to match foreign rivals would bring production costs per car down $800, an independent analyst said.

The New York Times reported Wednesday that leveling the playing field on labor costs between U.S. automakers and foreign companies making cars on U.S. soil may not be enough to alter the long-term viability of U.S. car companies.

The International Motor Vehicle Program reported U.S. companies already sell cars equivalent to Japanese rivals at about $2,500 less per car, the Times said.

The headline-grabbing number of $73 per hour in labor costs is accurate, but not entirely relevant, the Times said.

Of that figure, $15 an hour goes to retirees, not because their benefits are generous, but because the companies have long histories, meaning they have a lot more retirees than transplant car companies, the Times said.

The true difference between compensation among autoworkers at U.S. and foreign companies with U.S. plants is $10 per hour, the Times said.

Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., called the $73-an-hour figure, which has garnered resentment among the public and politicians, "a total lie."

"I think some people have perpetrated that deliberately … to mislead the American people," Casey said.