CEO Math

by divorced one like Bush

Honda has done some math,

Honda Motor Co. now expects 185 billion yen ($2.06 billion) in group net profit for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2009 — less than a third of the 600 billion yen it earned last fiscal year.
For every yen the dollar declines, Honda loses about 18 billion yen ($200 million) in operating profit. In trading Wednesday, the dollar fell as low as 88.15 yen.

And is making some changes based on the results:

Underlining the tough times ahead, Fukui refused to set a vehicles sales target for 2009 — an unusual move for Honda.
To take responsibility for the faltering results, Honda directors will take a 10 percent pay cut and further bonus reductions are likely, he said.

Earlier this month, Honda said it was pulling out of the glamorous but expensive Formula One racing to save costs and focus on its core car business. (Hey, it’s not NASCAR so who care? I do.)

Honda lowered its sales forecast for the fiscal year through March by 13 percent to 10.4 trillion yen ($116.9 billion).

The company also trimmed annual investment spending by 60 billion yen ($674 million) to about 650 billion yen ($7.3 billion) to cut costs during hard times, including scrapping plans to introduce the Acura luxury line in Japan by 2010. Plans to develop a successor to the NSX sportscar were also canceled.

Yes, there are layoffs:

Honda had already said it was cutting 760 temporary workers in Japan, or nearly 18 percent of its Japan temporary work force of 4,300. On Wednesday, Honda said another 450 temporary workers in Japan will be reduced through February.

That’s all they have to cut? No regulars getting the axe? Don’t they know it’s the workers fault?

Toyota has done some math too.

Toyota is also reducing production. In a key setback, Toyota said earlier this week that it’s delaying indefinitely the start of production at its plant in Blue Springs, Mississippi. The plant had been scheduled to begin in 2010…

Hey Cochran baby, how’s that work’n for ya in old Mississippi?