Posted on 04/30/2006 6:51:38 AM PDT by ncountylee
Ponying up more than $100,000 of their own money, three dozen General Motors Corp. dealers nationwide this month bought full-page newspaper ads imploring the public to give GM a chance.
''For the good of everyone, they must succeed and they need our help,'' the ad read. ''We pledge ours. We hope you will do the same.''
For most of GM's 98-year history, that kind of plea would have been unimaginable. But now, the company long synonymous with U.S. industrial might is scrambling to avoid something else once unimaginable: bankruptcy.
GM executives, including Chief Executive Officer Rick Wagoner, say they have no intention of filing for bankruptcy protection, and no need to do so.
On Thursday, the company reported a $323 million first quarter loss, a sharp improvement from recent quarters and an ''important milestone'' in the automaker's turnaround plan, Wagoner said.
But some veteran industry analysts say GM's fundamental problems of high labor costs and falling market share are so severe that there is a serious risk that the auto giant will enter Bankruptcy Court in the next few years. Any number of events could be the tipping point — another surge in oil and gasoline prices, a recession brought on by rising interest rates or a strike by GM's main parts supplier, which already is reorganizing under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.
Super-sized problem
For the world's largest automaker and its vast constituencies, the prospect of a bankruptcy filing is so daunting that even many of Wagoner's critics hope his revival program works.
A GM bankruptcy filing would be the largest in history, challenging Wall Street, organized labor, politicians and the legal system to deal with the fallout.
GM's 147,000 workers in the United States and 460,000 retirees would face the prospect
(Excerpt) Read more at mcall.com ...
lets not disinclude the management also
They were codependent (conspirators?)
"A GM bankruptcy filing would be the largest in history, challenging Wall Street, organized labor, politicians and the legal system to deal with the fallout."
Not to mention the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
Developing and hoping to sell vehicles that the public won't buy is what has destroyed General Motors.
G.M. has been going through this since the days of Roger Smith in the middle 80s.
It's not the line people who have crippled General Motors. G.M.'s leadership has been the culprit.
I should hope taxpayers would do no such thing. Nothing lasts forever, and GM is no exception. Bankruptcy is the legal mechanism needed to undo bad business decisions once they reach a certain point. As has been observerd, the assets will do well once detached from the rotting corporate carcass. Chevrolet and Cadillac as independent companies could probably thrive with the right focus on the customer.
Self Inflicted wounds, I've got no sympathy.
Factually-Historically-Financially-correct.
Indeed the unions have helped destroy GM, but the majority of their problem can be laid directly on the types and quality (or lack thereof) of the vehicles they build.
Mercedes Benz, Porsche and BMW seem to have done really well over the years while operating under MUCH more harmful union and government rules by building cars people love to drive and be seen driving.
Come on GM and Ford. How many lines of four door, front wheel drive, underpowered, top heavy, cheap and hideous cars do you really need to "saturate the market"?
Whenever I see somebody tooling along in a Ford pickup or a GM car, I always say to myself "There goes another John Kerry supporter."
GM only builds one car worth exporting, and that's the Corvette. Take any of the rest of their line on the Autobahn and you'll understand why they can't export them.
That'd be very good thing to see happen.
Can't individual brand companies just "jump ship" while the deckline is still above the waterline??
Quite profound, and IMHO works in this case. GM, Ford, and our German owned Chrysler, shouldda done somethin YEARS ago. But did not. Hell, I just heard a week or so ago that millions of dollars in health benefit monies went to buy Viagra... Something is bad wrong when we hear things like this...
The thing we should learn from this is the actual effect of unions as opposed to their intent. We should then implement legislation to remove unions from education and from the civil service or our schools and government will end with the same fate as GM.
Paying unskilled line workers more than doctors hasn't helped.
If only the oil industry was as cooly efficient and competitive as the automobile industry.
GM also acted, at times, based on PC considerations rather than business principles. Keeping production in Detroit for example. How's that working out GM?
As an ex GM customer I didn't quit buying GM products because of their "unions". I quit because of indifferent design, weak engineering, and when I had a problem I was basically told they didn't need my business.
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