Steve Miller Is the Man

Steve Miller, CEO of Delphi—the largest U.S. auto supplier—gave a fabulous speech at Washington the other day. The speech was delivered on the heels of Delphi’s recent filing for bankruptcy protection. What is striking about this high-ranking exec is that he didn’t hide behind happy corporate talk; didn’t deliver yet another sermon on strategies of achieving proper return-on-investment, reducing overhead, etc. Although recent Chapter 11 filings have unions written all over them, Mr. Miller looks at this problem from several angles.

Some interesting, and at times humorous, points by Steve Miller:

• Globalization is a fact of life these days. The implications for America are enormous. And it boils down to this: If you want your kids to live well and be in control of their own destiny, get them a great education. At one time in America a high school diploma and a job at the local factory was the ticket to success, but no longer. Nonetheless, globalization doesn’t deserve all the blame for what’s happening.
• And in the auto industry, Toyota, Nissan, and Honda are competing from assembly plants in our back yard, but without the crippling work rules and social costs embedded in Big Three labor contracts. In each case, the old oligopoly has crumbled, not so much from globalization, but from upstart domestic competition.
• For some time, GM has been sagging under the weight of $80 billion in unfunded health-care obligations to retirees. Some have said GM is actually a giant HMO that happens to make cars!
• Behind all the motions, hearings and ongoing negotiations are the lives and livelihoods of thousands of our workers. These are honest, loyal, hard-working people who took a job at GM or Delphi and played by the rules. They cannot be blamed for pursuing the American dream. They expected us to live up to our promises and we fully intended to deliver.
• Why should airlines get an easier deal than auto companies? As noted in The New York Times a couple weeks ago, I have suggested changing the name of my company to ’Delphi Airlines’ to get longer relief.
• As someone said, buy a Hyundai and get a satellite radio as an option. Buy a Chevy, and social welfare comes as standard equipment!
• We are reaping the harvest of years of putting more and more of our country’s social costs on the backs of private employers. We lament the loss of jobs to foreign entities that sell goods to our consumers without those burdens. How long are we going to put up with it?

The guy definitely has guts. Hat tip to Autoblog for the link.