世界500强CEO访谈 第13期:通用里克瓦格纳 如何逆转衰退(1)

 　　Reporter: How does it feel to lose the top spot on your watch?

　　记者：通用汽车失去了其世界顶级汽车品牌的地位，对此您感受如何呢？

　　Wagoner: It’s not something we’d relish¹. We’ve been number one in the world for 75 years, and we want to keep that going. That’ll be determined² out on the playing field. If they pass us, we’ll get up the next day and go after them. I wouldn’t like it. But if it happens, I’m not going to quit the next morning. But would it bother me? Sure. I’m a competitive guy. I don’t like losing at anything.

　　瓦格纳：那是我们不希望发生的事情。我们已经连续75年位居世界第一，我们想要一直保持下去。就像是要在运动场上决出胜负，如果他们超过了我们，那么我们在第二天就会继续起来去追赶他们。但其实我不喜欢那样。如果那样的事情真的发生了，那我一定不会在第二天早上就退出。那会使我烦恼吗？那是一定的。我是一个好竞争的人，我不希望在任何方面失败。

　　Reporter: With all the challenges facing you, what tops your priority list?

　　记者：你们现在面临着很多挑战，那么你们最优先考虑的事情是什么呢？

　　Wagoner: We need to drive revenue growth. Frankly³, that’s hard to do in a weak market, but that’s what is really going to emphasize the extent of the changes we made and translate our improvements in products, quality and manufacturing into better financial results.

　　瓦格纳：我们要使收益有所增长，坦白的说，这在一个疲软的市场环境之中很难做到，但是那才能更加肯定我们所作出的调整，我们在产品质量、制造方面的提高，最终表现为经济收益的增长。

　　Reporter: How do you do that?

　　记者：您是怎样做的呢？

　　Wagoner: We’ve cut $9 billion in fixed⁴ costs through plant consolidation⁵ and job cuts, and think we can cut another $5 billion or so over the next three years with lower health care, pension and labor⁶ costs with the new United Auto⁷ Workers agreement.

　　瓦格纳：我们通过工厂合并和裁员使固定成本减少了90亿美元，并且我们认为，根据新的汽车工人联合会协议，卫生医疗、退休金和人工成本将会更低，那么在接下来的3年时间里，我们还能够继续减少大约50亿美元的成本。

　　Reporter: A lot of people are talking about a US recession. Can the great American automaker still turn things around?

　　记者：很多人现在都在谈论美国经济萧条，伟大的美国汽车制造商有办法使这种形势有所好转吗？

　　Wagoner: Sure. There are a number of things that will play out over the next couple of years that should improve our earnings⁸. When we complete the 2007 labor agreement，we will get $4 billion to $5 billion in savings⁹, a half billion when our supplier Delphi gets out of bankruptcy¹⁰, and if the US industry gets back to average sales, that will be $1 billion to $1.5 billion, conservatively. We don’t have the profitability we want, but we are improving our cash flow. So even in a very difficult US environment, help is on its way. But we’re not waiting for help to get here. We are coming up with other ways to improve our cost structure, including a buyout offer for US.

　　瓦格纳：当然会有的。在接下来的几年时间里，我们可以做很多事情来提高我们的收入。当我们完成2007劳资协议的时候，我们可以得到40—50亿的储蓄；当我们的供应商特尔斐脱离破产的困境时，我们可以得到50亿美元；当美国产业恢复到平均销售额时，保守来说，我们将得到10—15亿美元。我们现在并没有达到希望的利益率，但是我们正在努力提高现金流转速度。所以即使美国现在处于一个很困难的时期，我们也会得到一些帮助。但我们没有等着靠帮助实现目标，我们也将采取其他的方法来改善我们的费用结构，包括让国家来购买我们的股份。

　　Reporter: A lot of people have pointed¹¹ to last year's loss as a sign that execution hasn’t come through.

　　记者：很多人都将公司去年的损失看做是管理不善的结果。

　　Wagoner: Nothing could be further from the truth. If anyone is interpreting that, they are not looking at the data. It’s clear the loss was driven by an accounting¹² requirement, and a significant loss in GMAC business. Behind those the automotive business continued to show significant improvements, and North America produced 300,000 fewer units and still showed improvement in earnings. That’s worth a huge amount of money and highlights that we’re doing what we said we would. We’ve executed well, and on top of that, product momentum¹³ is moving nicely.

　　瓦格纳：不是那样的。如果有人那样说的话，那他们一定没有去看数据。很明显，损失纯粹是由于金融需求而造成的，那导致通用汽车金融公司面临了很严重的损失。紧接着，汽车产业就不断呈现改善的趋势，北美仅制造了30万辆汽车，但是他们的盈利仍然是增加了。那样的投资很值得，并且向大家展示了我们正在做以前说过要做的事情。我们执行的很好，并且除此之外，产品冲力也发展的很好。

　　Reporter: GM will have—

　　记者：通用汽车将会有……

　　Wagoner: GM will have eight different hybrid¹⁴ models. And I think in things like flex¹⁵ fuel, you know, we’ve committed to have 50 percent of our production flex— fuel capable by 2012. So, if you add all those up, I think over the next several years, we’re going to feel this thing shifting. Is it all going to be done in five or 10 years? That’s probably an overstatement, but we’re going to be moving on a different path than it feels like we’ve been on for the last five years as an industry.

　　瓦格纳：通用汽车将会有关于混合燃料的8辆氢燃料动力汽车模型，你知道在2012年我们将达到50%的产品都使用混合燃料。所以如果把这也算入内的话，在接下来几年的时间内，我们就会感受到事情有所改变。那在5年或者10年的时间内会全部实现吗？那可能是大话，但是作为一个产业，与近5年相比，我们会走上一条不同的道路。

1 relish   

n.滋味，享受，爱好，调味品；vt.加调味料，享受，品味；vi.有滋味

参考例句：

• I have no relish for pop music.我对流行音乐不感兴趣。
• I relish the challenge of doing jobs that others turn down.我喜欢挑战别人拒绝做的工作。

2 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

3 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

4 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

5 consolidation   

n.合并,巩固

参考例句：

• The denser population necessitates closer consolidation both for internal and external action. 住得日益稠密的居民，对内和对外都不得不更紧密地团结起来。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• The state ensures the consolidation and growth of the state economy. 国家保障国营经济的巩固和发展。 来自汉英非文学 - 中国宪法

6 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

7 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

8 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

9 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

10 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

11 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

12 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。

13 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

14 hybrid   

n.(动，植）杂种，混合物

参考例句：

• That is a hybrid perpetual rose.那是一株杂交的四季开花的蔷薇。
• The hybrid was tall,handsome,and intelligent.那混血儿高大、英俊、又聪明。

15 flex   

n.皮线，花线；vt.弯曲或伸展

参考例句：

• We wound off a couple of yards of wire for a new lamp flex.我们解开几码电线作为新的电灯花线。
• He gave his biceps a flex to impress the ladies.他收缩他的肱二头肌以吸引那些女士们的目光。