I'm quite aware that losing $1.2 B on $49 B in revenues requires spending or otherwise eliminating via accounting principles $50.2B. I guess I should have said "spend" rather than "lose".
I obviously did not propose my figures as my reasonable assumption of Chrysler LLC's unpublished 2007 P&L (especially since the mid-year sale makes the whole thing an even bigger fucking mess).
What I was pointing out was that even at this ridiculous $72/hour average, labor costs comprise little more than 20% of COGS.
I draw a number of conclusions from this:
1. Anyone who insists that unions are solely to blame for the downfall of the domestic auto industry is a moron.
2. Claims that "the domestic auto industry is doomed to fail because domestic cars are all crap and nobody buys them" are willfully ignorant.
3. The higher-ups at Cerberus must be very well-connected.
4. If I had to choose between an extra two weeks paid vacation, and getting paid $19 Million to be CEO for a year without even having to make a profit, I know damn well which one I'd choose.
5. I can't remember #5.
