GM CEO Fritz Henderson Hints at C11: "Whatever It Takes"
If it wasn’t clear before, it is now: GM will use the next 60 days to prepare itself for a Chapter 11 filing. Freshly-minted CEO Fritz Henderson told a suited and booted press Detroit press corps that he wouldn’t have taken the job from Rick Wagoner if he wasn’t prepared to do “whatever it takes” to return GM to profitability. Henderson spoke of his distaste for “messy” bankruptcies, but indicated his willingness to be the new broom. (Dream on, Fritz.) Meanwhile, despite repeated requests by the friendly press flacks, Henderson refused to be drawn out on how much GM will draw out of the taxpayer’s purse while it gets ready to file Chapter 11. He skated over the point faster than a duck landing on a frozen pond, saying that GM might scarf the $2 billion that it didn’t take this month, or the $2.6 billion it requested for April, or both. At the beginning of the conference, Fritz touted GM’s new “Total Confidence” program. TC is designed to protect GM buyers from losing their wheels after they lose their job, and insulate them from [some] negative equity at trade-in time. It doesn’t, however, protect TTAC’s Best and Brightests’ finely honed sensibilities by the unintentionally humorous irony implicit in the program’s name. If you know what I mean.
More by Robert Farago
Comments
Join the conversation
Pch101 wrote: The only way that the union is going to survive is if it expands into non-automotive sectors, because its base is rapidly shrinking. They already are, casino dealers, teachers' aides, nurses, and many others. Actually, auto workers are still the majority, but all the others combined make the auto workers a minority.
Sorry I forgot, did the renegotiated contract cut pay for current employees or just the fictitious new ones?
I for one welcome our new, leaner General of Motors. Hopefully without all the product bloat. For god sake's without the product bloat!
Fritz = Wagoner 2. Same old crap, same old GM.