Bailout Watch 480: GM CEO Promises Status Quo

Robert Farago
by Robert Farago

Now that April Fool’s Day is finally done, I can report with confidence that GM CEO Fritz Henderson did, in fact, say the following [via Daniel Howes at The Detroit News]: “People ask, ‘What changes are you going to make in management, in the organization,'” he says. “None. That would be a waste of time. We don’t have time. There are mechanisms to get this done. You just have to drive them hard.” And put them away wet, I suppose. Only Danny isn’t buying it, ’cause there’s that pesky little matter of all the other GM “stakeholders.” “The constituencies Henderson needs to drive hardest have reasons to balk. United Auto Workers leaders, strong backers of the Obama administration, figure their allies will protect them. Bondholders operating in Bailout Nation figure the feds are more likely to help them (and protect labor) than force GM into bankruptcy and risk the collateral damage to the shaky economy.” And so the countdown to GM’s C11 continues, steady-as-she-goes-down style, with the company’s caretaker taking care . . . of his own.

Robert Farago
Robert Farago

More by Robert Farago

Comments
Join the conversation
4 of 11 comments
  • John R John R on Apr 02, 2009

    LOL This picture reminds me of those times in high school when you made fun of some other kid with your friends...then the same kid shows up and is like, "Hey! What's up guys?!?"

  • Ronnie Schreiber Ronnie Schreiber on Apr 02, 2009

    bill301972 is right. With 60 days to come up with a plan, radically changing the management structure now would only get in the way. In any case, you can't change a corporate culture in two months. You can make a start at that, but changing a company the size of GM isn't going to happen overnight. It took Mulally about a year to steer Ford in the right direction.

  • Tcostanz Tcostanz on Apr 02, 2009

    cut and chop let's get going, i think they can turn it around 1st unions get pay cut it's the fastest way to cut cost, don't fire trim pay and benifits, some job better than no job, then let's cut the board, and then midlevel management lean mean car building machine, then once it is done remove all old management

  • PeteMoran PeteMoran on Apr 02, 2009

    Is that an old picture for this article? How do these guys manage to crack a smile? It's insulting.

Next