TPT March 2009

From the AmericaS

Two of Detroit’s ‘big three’ have already won important help from Washington, conditioned on creditworthiness General Motors was close to running out of cash enough to stay in business before federal loans – in the vernacular, the ‘bailout’ – were approved by then-President George W Bush in December. In mid-January, just a week before Mr Bush left office, the company was striving to complete reorganization plans tied to the loans. With GM’s $13.4 billion federal aid package sufficient to keep the company solvent only until the end of March, at the New Year the automaker was revolving its latest plan for cutting labour costs, restructuring debt, and reducing its complement of dealers and brands. In Detroit on 12 January, at the 2009 North American International Auto Show, GM chairman Rick Wagoner told reporters, “Those are the major pieces and they all have to add up to a business plan that meets the so-called financial viability test.” Along with Chrysler, which received a $4 billion loan, GM was required to submit its overhaul plans to the government by 17 February. By then, Mr Obama was expected to have appointed a ‘car czar’ to evaluate their plans. The companies would then have until 31 March to show progress in executing the plans, or risk having the loans recalled. Mr Wagoner said at the auto show that GM had yet to decide whether it would seek further help after that. “By 31 March, we’ll be able to address whether additional funding may be forthcoming or

in Seattle, Washington, pointed out the likely exorbitant price of getting dealerships to close. When GM announced in 2000 that it would give up its Oldsmobile brand, it took four years and $1 billion to shutter 2,800 dealerships: largely, noted Ms Merx, “because so many dealerships sued to protect their contracts”. Elsewhere at GM . . . › Also from the Detroit Free Press (10 January), the Brazilian chief of General Motors has said that the company’s Latin American units have no need of government aid and would not be availing themselves of any loans that the parent company receives from Washington. Jaime Ardila, president of GM of Brazil, said 9 January in a Bloomberg News television interview, “The loans from the US government are to resolve problems that GM has in the US – not to help Brazil operations, which don’t need help.” › General Motors Corp has filed a lawsuit against a bankrupt automotive supplier for immediate access to specialized parts and equipment, arguing that a delay would hamper the introduction of its new Chevrolet Camaro, disrupt assembly operations, and cause millions of dollars in damages. The 24 December filing, with the United States Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, said Cadence Innovation (Troy, Michigan) was ‘holding hostage’ parts and equipment needed by GM, and breaching the terms of a signed agreement between the two companies. A bankruptcy filing by Cadence in August became a liquidation proceeding in December.

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