Productivity

Many large American manufacturing companies face the constant challenge to reduce costs while increasing output in their factories. As foreign competitors continue to import low-cost products into North America, a productivity solution must be found to offset the inherent cost advantages these foreign manufacturers have over U.S. based companies.

Presentation by Prof. Marick Masters, University of Pittsburgh, Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business

Comments about Productivity from Jon Rich's Opening Day remarks:

• We must have a significantly lower cost structure in North America. In our plants, we must constantly improve on our cost structure with the highest productivity in the industry. Make no mistake; we must solve our cost and productivity problems.
• To win in North America we must see reality. We must significantly reduce our overall cost structure here. To be clear, we are not going to be lower cost tire producers than competitors in China, Eastern Europe and Latin America. But we must be substantially lower than we are today. Additionally we can no longer survive with future legacy liabilities for pensions and healthcare that are uncompetitive and unpredictable.
• If we are to succeed in North America, we absolutely must have the highest productivity in the world. We must eliminate the roadblocks that prevent us from achieving maximum productivity and responding to customers. Work rules, job classifications and inflexible work schedules must be dealt with effectively.
• Getting a labor agreement only provides the opportunity to achieve productivity; it does not actually accomplish it. If we are to win in North America, every Goodyear associate... management, salaried and hourly employees must be dedicated to that goal. We must have the best-trained, most engaged workforce in the world.
• The commitments required to win with customers and fix Goodyear are too crucial to tolerate people who are not 100% dedicated to winning. We cannot tolerate coworkers who don’t show up for work, who don’t give a day’s work for a day’s pay, who don’t care about quality and workmanship and who are willing to abuse the worker’s compensation system.