forget about the tax impact and split off all the business on their own. no value to the GE management any more (if ever??). if anything the overhead and lack of understanding of how the businesses work is more than ever pointing to a full scale break-up. and for those who think that Welch added value through his financial manipulations and six sigma, think again! you were mislead by the over inflated stock price
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It may not be a strategy but it is a tactic.
by the way, it's not the op who said 'cut cut cut is not a strategy' - it was a bank analyst who screamed it on cnbc this morning when asked to provide opinion about the dividend/divestiture announcement by our mgmt
God help us if we turn out to be the next HON - it's cut, cut, cut indeed over there. HON has (by far) the most busy board on layoff.com
The OP is right. Cut, cut, cut is not a strategy. The problem is that GE management has no idea what is going on. Every earning report will be an under deliver followed by an over promise. They cannot manage what they can't be honest about. Too much face saving is allowed. The solution is to bring in outside management like Honeywell did when they were in a significant funk.
http://fortune.com/2012/05/14/how-dave-cote-got-honeywells-groove-back/
@wnd GE does have profitable, solid businesses that have been plagued by the current market conditions (cyclical) or poor business decision, ie Alstom/Baker Hughes. I think Flannery is on the right course. You've got to cut fat, increase customer value, and increase market share.
@QfqPIr5-wnd GE has a legal obligation for the bonds they have issued as a combined entity as well as the pension plan how would you deal with that? What would you do with GRC? What rich Chinese company would you suggest would be capable of buying $60-70B value for Power and Healthcare? What about renewables? Seems Flannery has a better strategy than yours right now.
Sell ourselves to Apple
Spin off Aviation then merge with some wealthy Chinese company?
@QfqPIr5-guz While I agree accountability should include some claw back, that is not a strategy either. It's also peanuts in comparison to the problems left. Once again, what is your strategy?
You've got to right size the business to match the current business state. Anyone who works inside GE can look around and see people who have plush jobs with minimal responsibilities and work load. Those jobs have got to go. Unfortunately, it appears GE's strategy is not to cut these plush jobs but rather cut the employees who make the most money, many of which are worth every penny to the company.
Claw back from Immelt and his lieutenants.
What would you recommend he do?