Welcome to Government Motors
What was once the top of the American auto industry, the 300-pound gorilla known as General Motors, is preparing to file Chapter 11 – bankruptcy. This is the company that owned names like Hummer, Saturn, Pontiac, Buick, GMC, Chevrolet and Cadillac. This is also the company that just last year was deemed “too big to fail.”
Perhaps the government spoke to soon.
On June 1, GM was scheduled to turn over the keys and let the government take the wheel.
On May 31, the company scrambled to finish accounts oversees, from handing bond holder issues to loaning Opel to a Canadian parts supplier. The plans so far are to break the company in half, leaving “New GM” and “Old GM.”
It is thought, though it won’t be clear until the details are made public, that “New GM” will be the leaner, more conservative portion of the former GM, and will be able to retain the stronger name brands;\, while “Old GM” will work its way into non-existence over time.
General Motors and partners that secured stakes in the separation of GM, such as Magna, which secured Opel, plan to keep factories open if GM closes, preserving some 25,000 jobs according to Fox News. Other employees may not be so lucky at home or abroad, but it is nice to know that there are some companies that still place value in employees.
Hopefully the GM restructuring succeeds, because it would be a shame for the Camaro to die again.
Rob @ June 8, 2009