Chrysler, undoubtedly wishing to give a truly unforgettable Valentine’s Day to its workers on 14th Feb., announced that it was cutting 13,000 jobs across North America – a full sixth of its entire workforce. 2,000 of these job losses were to be at its profitable plants in Windsor and Brampton. The cuts at Chrysler come on the heels of other enormous cuts announced by General Motors and Ford in the past 18 months. When all of these cuts are added up, the Big Three automakers will be eliminating over 100,000 jobs in Canada and the United States by the end of 2008.

What is the rationale behind these job losses? Well, according to the bosses, it’s because they cannot afford to continue bleeding money. Based on their estimates, GM lost about $14 billion in 2005 and 2006. Ford claims to have lost another $12.7 billion in 2006, while Chrysler “only” lost $1.5 billion last year. These totals dwarf the entire economy of a small Third World country!

Not surprisingly, the Big Three blame their workers for these losses and for making their vehicles non-profitable. The 2005 Harbour Report stated that Ford and Chrysler solely made a profit of $620 and $186 per vehicle, respectively. GM actually lost $2,311 per vehicle it manufactured. According to the bosses, Canadian and American workers are massively overpaid (not just in wages but in benefits, as well), and produce less than employees at Japanese or Korean factories. Their arguments ring a bit hollow when GM itself, for example, advertises that its auto plants in southern Ontario have consistently ranked as some of the most productive and efficient on the entire planet. In other words, its employees are amongst the best (not worst) out there. What the Big Three are doing is punishing the workers for doing what they are supposed to be doing, and for doing it effectively!

The Canadian Autoworkers’ Union (CAW) and its leader, Buzz Hargrove, have not given their workers much to rally around. In a press release following the announcement by Chrysler, Hargrove limply stated that Chrysler’s cuts were a “disaster.” He also said, “Can we find a way to avoid this? I don’t know… it looks pretty bleak at this point.” (CBC News, 8 Feb. 2007) The blame, according to Hargrove, should be placed on the government for not protecting the auto industry (namely, protecting Ford, GM, and Chrysler) in Canada from foreign competitors, especially those from South Korea and China. As for the plant closures, Hargrove has simply gone along with all of the cuts announced by the Big Three, simply lamenting the job losses of his members instead of doing anything to fight back.

The losses suffered by the likes of Ford and GM are so massive that they cannot simply be blamed on inefficiencies and high labour costs. All of the problems plaguing the automakers (and indeed, other sectors of the economy) are inherent flaws within the capitalist system.

What has been the response of Buzz Hargrove and the CAW leadership to massive closures in the auto plants in Ontario? Well, their solution is to give aid to the bosses at GM, Ford, and Chrysler in the forms of government subsidies and protection from cheaper autos made by Asian firms. Hargrove and Co. naively believe that if the Big Three’s bottom line were better, then the workers would benefit. Other firms in Ontario show that this is far from the case. In January, Magna International announced probable job cuts in the Greater Toronto Area, possibly as high as 3,000. Unlike the Big Three, Magna cranked out nearly $500 million in profit in the first nine months of 2006, sits on a cash reserve totalling nearly $2 billion, and is completely debt-free. Its owner, Frank Stronach, also receives a $50 million yearly salary!

Magna is not the only example of the drive for profits under capitalism. As despicable as Magna’s actions are, they pale in comparison to the job cuts announced by the Bank of Montreal a few weeks ago. By the end of October, BMO will have eliminated about 1,000 jobs (mostly in Toronto), even though only two months earlier, the bank had announced a record profit of $2.7 billion for 2006. More ludicrous was the explanation issued by BMO CEO Tony Comper: “We owe it to our customers, our employees and our shareholders to have lean, efficient support functions, simplified processes, fewer layers and to eliminate duplication across our enterprise.” (My emphasis added) Yes, Mr. Comper, BMO employees were clamouring to have their jobs cut for the good of your bank! The hypocrisy of the bosses knows no bounds, and these are the leeches that Buzz Hargrove proposes helping!

There can be no solution to unemployment and job losses under capitalism. Capitalist production means more inefficiencies and more overproduction. This is in addition to the fact that capitalism relentlessly seeks profit above all else. Profitable companies like Magna and BMO are still cutting jobs in an obsessive pursuit for an even better bottom line. We cannot escape this fact.

When the Ford and GM plants in cities like Oakville, Oshawa, or St. Catherines are closed, it will be a tremendous waste. Highly skilled auto workers will be left without a job and plants, equipped with state-of-the-art technology, will lie empty, waiting for someone to use them. If this is the case, why aren’t workers seizing and occupying them, and demanding their nationalization under workers’ control? The idea isn’t so far fetched. We are currently witnessing this in Venezuela, and we have witnessed it around the world (including Canada) in the past.

Time and time again, workers have shown that they can have all the power in the world, if they dare to fight back against the bosses. Even though the majority of labour leaders present plant closures as an accomplished fact, this is not the case. Workers can demand to control their factories, and to have them nationalized under their control. This can be the first step in fighting for socialism and overthrowing our current parasitic system.

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