Bailout Watch 235: GM Outsourcing One Billion Bailout Bucks To Brazil
Infowars has a story from the Latin American Herald Tribune that suggests GM could send bailout money to Brazil. The story quotes GM Brazil-Mercosur President Jaime Ardila as saying GM plans to invest $1 billion worth of American tax dollars in Brazil to avoid the kind of problems the U.S. automaker is facing in its home market. “It wouldn’t be logical to withdraw the investment from where we’re growing, and our goal is to protect investments in emerging markets,” says Ardila. The money would be spent on a “complete the renovation of the line of products up to 2012.” This news comes on the heels of an announced $3.5b automaker stimulus by Brazil’s federal and Sao Paolo state governments. Of course, the whole plan banks on Congress approving an ammendment to the already-approved $25b retooling loan program. The Detroit CEOs have until December 2 to present congress with their plans for the $25b, and if those plans are approved Congress could remove all existing “strings” on the loan program. These strings currently require the funds to be spent on retooling American plants that are over 25 years old to build more fuel-efficient vehicles. So the question now is, will GM lie to congress and tell them that they won’t send taxpayer money to Brazil, or have they already lied to their Brazilian division? Or will congress simply look the other way? So many possibilities…
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Ronnie Schreiber : I'm not buying it, and not just because GM PR has trained me not the believe a word they say. Who's going to invest in GM Brazil when the corporate mothership is about to go Tango Uniform? If GM had hived off its overseas ops and declared a NA C11-- as recommended in '05-- that might have been possible. Now? Fuhgeddboutit.
Robert, The problem with not believing anything GM says is that the original report is attributed to GM Brazil-Mercosur President Jaime Ardila. Is he any more trustworthy, in your mind, than the folks he works for in the RenCen? Regarding credibility, the link above goes to the web site of Alex Jones, who, to put it nicely, is a conspiracy theory crank 9/11 troofer. The journalist who filed the story, Russ Dallen, is the editor of the LAHT, and appears to be a credible guy, but I'd find the report more credible if he provided an actual quote. The money excerpt, According to the president of GM Brazil-Mercosur, Jaime Ardila, the funding will come from the package of financial aid that the manufacturer will receive from the U.S. government is in Dallen's own words and isn't a direct quote. I've used the LAHT's contact form to ask Dallen's response to GM's denial and will forward any information forthcoming from him.
Robert- That's a crock. Look, you don't have to believe them, but actually read what he said. They're getting money from local sources, which will include money from the Brazilian government. And I don't understand why you guys don't get it that GMNA is a pretty distinct entity from Europe and the rest of the world. While the other arms of GM get their direction from Detroit as far as operations go, they make their own business decisions and largely fund themselves. (look at Holden, which operated with little to no support from GM corporate prior to Zeta)
[...] Here’s more proof that that US economic turmoil has positive effects on the outsourcing industry. Recently, US troubled car manufacturer GM announced plans to invest its $1 billion bailout money to outsource its operations to Brazil. [...]