Drudge is running the headline "Happy Holidays: GM to Cut 30,000 Jobs, Close 9 Plants" with definite implications as to the unfairness of it all, but this sort of creative destruction is exactly what makes America's economy so strong, and the fact that you'd never see such a headline in Western Europe should tell you everything you need to know about their economic weakness.

General Motors Corp. will eliminate 30,000 jobs and close nine North American assembly, stamping and powertrain plants by 2008 as part of an effort to get production in line with demand and position the world's biggest automaker to start making money again after absorbing nearly $4 billion in losses so far this year. ...

The 30,000 job cuts represent about 9 percent of GM's global work force of about 325,000 people.

"The decisions we are announcing today were very difficult to reach because of their impact on our employees and the communities where we live and work," Wagoner told employees. "But these actions are necessary for GM to get its costs in line with our major global competitors. In short, they are an essential part of our plan to return our North American operations to profitability as soon as possible."

Assuming Wagoner knows what he's talking about, his actions fall squarely into the realm of reasonable and responsible management. He has a duty to the owners of the company -- the millions of shareholders -- to handle their investments profitably. As for the economy itself, eliminating these jobs is a double-win, because not only will less manpower be wasted on unneeded effort, that same manpower can be redirected towards useful endeavors -- a minus is turned into a plus.

And yes, I've been laid-off before, I work in aerospace!

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