By Leftlane Staff
Thursday, Sep 21st, 2006 @ 9:14 am

Restructuring at America’s Big Three automakers could make the companies significantly more competitive with Toyota , analysts say. “If GM were to have Toyota’s health care costs, that’s roughly equal to it having enough to develop five new products a year,” said David Cole, chairman of the Center for Auto Research. “The changes to their cost structure that have been made and undoubtedly will be made in the 2007 contract will be a huge improvement in the Big Three’s competitive position.” If the Big Three succeed in their restructuring, it’s “really going to be tougher for Toyota,” said Walter McManus, an auto industry expert at the University of Michigan. Another problem for Toyota may arise as more retirees come into the picture. Currently, Toyota only has 258 retirees from its North American manufacturing operations, but that is expected to increase rapidly in the coming years. By comparison, the Big Three have hundreds of thousands.

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