Motors Liquidation Corp Outsources Plant Liquidation To Community

The New York Times checks in on the cheery scene of Flint North, a giant factory complex that was left to Motors Liquidation Corp (aka “Old GM”) after the GM bankruptcy, and finds that the liquidation process is moving along nicely. It turns out that all Motors Liquidation Corp needed to do was look the other way… Flint North was more than happy to liquidate itself.

Ownership of Flint North was ceded to Motors Liquidation in July 2009, though in a special arrangement, G.M. kept making pistons and other engine parts at one of the factories. The empty plants were essentially abandoned in their as-is condition on their last day of production. “They still have personal goods on the table,” said Captain Swanson of the sheriff’s department. “There’s still ceiling fans going.”

Shortly afterward, thieves began to systematically strip copper — used in heating, cooling and other systems — from one of the nearby vacant plants. Authorities said that a ring of thieves hit the building night after night over a three-month period, taking out more than 150,000 pounds of copper.

The gang would load the metal on flatbed rail cars — owned and once used by G.M. — and roll the cars to a hole in a fence, where the copper was put on trucks and then sold to scrap dealers.

In March, the authorities arrested 11 people and estimated the value of the stolen copper at more than $1 million. “They were trying to steal every piece of copper that they could,” said the Genesee County prosecutor, David S. Leyton.

But even after the arrests, no additional security was posted at Flint North until August, when thieves returned and the arrests resumed. Seven adults and four juveniles were arrested, including one person who had been convicted and sentenced to probation for participating in the earlier burglaries, the police said.

Since the latest intrusions, Motors Liquidation and G.M. said they had hired more armed guards to patrol the complex. The 400 workers at the only functioning plant, meanwhile, will either be transferred out of the plant or laid off by November.

Meanwhile, no politician has stepped forward to take credit for the million dollar economic stimulus to Michigan’s valued copper thief community. And Motors Liquidation execs insist that they’re not dragging their heels on site sales for redevelopment because

It is nearly impossible to redevelop such properties for productive, job-creating purposes unless environmental remediation is complete

Luckily there’s $836m in federal money to be spent on that. In the meantime, taxpayers clearly understand that Motors Liquidation Corp’s assets technically belong to them… and they’re doing the dirty work of liquidation themselves.