Job cuts. Job cuts. Job cuts. The solution to the problem or, the problematic solution? From the automobile to publishing industry, it’s all you ever hear about in the news these days. Companies are struggling to come to terms with the awkward external environment (to say the least)…one that could have been foreseen and possibly prevented.

There is an interesting story floating around that over 50 years ago a mechanic out west designed a carburetor that could get 60 miles to the ½ gallon while powering an 8-cylinder car. Rumor has it that a large oil company found out about this, bought the rights and paid to not only silence the mechanic but also made him sign a piece of paper that said he would never design anything like this for the rest of his life. A few years later, he disappeared.

The solutions have been there all along, the problem is fat cats with chubby hands in the cookie jar.

It seems that whatever we try to do to combat a problem, the solution is taken away…until it comes down to the wire. Although the automobile industry is quite different from the publishing industry, they are all interrelated. Problems are trickling down, and in the end the workers pay with their livelihoods. We pay for the company’s mistakes: Ford, closing plants because couldn’t forecast the markets properly, in turn reducing the spending power of former workers at the local store, which causes more jobs to be lost.

In Europe, cars that get 70 MPG are common. Why haven’t these cars been transitioned over here? Is bigger really better when the bigger bills start to hit us? It is the same for the publishing industry. It seems that we are not changing our ways quickly enough. Publishers still print large inventories, and books go to waste. How much money has been wasted through the chain of distribution over the years?

The old adage and thought process that America is invincible is what gets us into trouble. We waste a lot of books, and even when there is better technology out there that could reduce costs, such as POD, we opt for the old method until it hits us hard enough that we have to change. Why don’t we save ourselves the trouble in the first place? The main reason, it seems, is that no one is willing to act and actually do something. Which is also why the CEO’s who have been with the high pay checks and mid-afternoon golf outings, are actually having to do some work, show that they are actually trying, and sympathize with employees by taking pay cuts (salaries may have been inflated in the first place) while firing others. We all know that there are some people who do work hard for their money, so it’s not everyone, but if you see a way for your company to save without sacrificing quality…speak up.

Book publishers: find a quality printer and don’t print high quantities. Certain authors need a print run of 5,000 books, but not every book is going to be a best seller. Think about the last time you went to a bookstore and perused their discounted books. How much money did that cost the publisher, or the author? How much money, and paper has been wasted over the last decade that could have been used for better use? Could those savings have saved jobs? Maybe we should rethink the dirty three-letter word, Print On Demand.

Unfortunately it usually takes times of hardship for people to excel. We get too comfortable, companies get too comfortable and people who take leadership roles especially feel like they are invincible. That’s why we are hearing many new names within the industry that hopefully will have enough vision to utilize all of the options available to them technology wise (e-books are a simple way to tap new markets inexpensively). Maybe it is time to make room for visionaries who will cut spending in the right places: from top to bottom.

Clear House: get rid of The Fat Cats who put in minimal time and get maximum benefits. Higher ups should be working alongside their employees to further a company. Since when did a higher salary equal less time on the job? Let’s not sacrifice the workers, let’s just smarten up, wake up, take a look at all of the opportunities we have in the industry before we cut jobs and cause more problems than solutions.