Free Republic

General Motors is trying to stave off the possibility of collapse by thrashing out a last-minute job reduction plan with its former subsidiary and now major parts supplier, Delphi, and the powerful United Auto Workers union. The plan on the table is believed to involve offering up to 35,000 employees in both companies cash incentives of up to $35,000 (£20,000) to take early retirement. ...

Detroit - About one-third of the automotive parts industry is probably headed for bankruptcy. The chilling prediction comes from Sean McAlinden, chief economist at the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich. He spoke at a conference for automotive writers Saturday, a week before the North American International Auto Show opens to the public Jan. 14 at Detroit's Cobo Conference and Exhibition Center. Faced with financial hemorrhaging, automakers are paring down their number of suppliers and are working closer with the remaining companies to get a better handle on costs. Those suppliers in top market positions can invest in...

BEIJING, Dec. 21 (Xinhuanet) -- The largest Chinese auto supplier,Wanxiang Group, aims to take over the partial business of the U.S.-based auto supplier Delphi Corporation, which filed for bankruptcy two months ago, said the China Securities Journal on Wednesday. But the Wanxiang Group said it is still unclear whether it will succeed in the purchase, said the journal. Lu Guanqiu, chairman of the Wanxiang Group, affirmed the plan and said the two parties have started negotiating the purchase, said sources with the Wanxiang Group. Ni Pin, manager of Wanxiang America Corp., said the company plans to expand business in the...

Delphi Corp.'s proposed wage and benefit cuts have not factored in aid from General Motors Corp., which now gives the bankrupt company alternatives in its union labor talks, chief executive Steve Miller said on Thursday. The company's proposal has met stiff opposition from unions that represent nearly all of Delphi's 34,750 U.S. hourly workers and have formed a coalition to fight the terms, raising the possibility of a production-disrupting strike. "The prospects of additional financial support from General Motors has really changed the nature (of the discussions)," Miller told Reuters in an interview at Delphi headquarters. "The financial assistance will...

KOKOMO, Ind. (AP) -- At least a thousand people rallied in central Indiana against steep wage cuts proposed by auto parts manufacturer Delphi Corp., which has filed for bankruptcy protection. Workers say the proposed cuts -- from $27 an hour to between $10 and $12.50 -- are unfair, especially as Delphi has given bonuses to managers and other executives. United Auto Workers officials have said a strike against Delphi appears increasingly likely. "To the Delphi workers here and everyone else, there are 380,000 union workers in the state of Indiana who will march in this battle with you," said Indiana...

To some, turnaround specialist Robert S. "Steve" Miller is a straight-shooter. To others he's a trigger-happy cost-cutter bent on destroying the middle-class lifestyle enjoyed by Midwestern auto workers. Miller, who took over as chief executive of Delphi Corp. in July, may never be a household name like former Chrysler chief Lee Iacocca, but he could leave a larger, more lasting imprint on the U.S. auto industry. The drastic pay cuts he seeks at the auto-parts company could set the pattern for hundreds of thousands of workers and, his critics warn, help sink America's middle class. "The unpleasant truth about the...

Troubled U.S. automakers and their allies on Capitol Hill are seeking billions of dollars in aid from the federal government ranging from health coverage for their workers to extra tax write-offs for themselves. They're also asking for one rhetorical favor: Please don't call the requests a bailout. "I don't view it as a bailout," Sen. Carl M. Levin (D-Mich.) said. "We're not looking for a bailout," agreed William C. Ford Jr., chairman of Ford Motor Co. The "B" word has been taboo ever since Chrysler Corp., faced with impending insolvency, sought and narrowly won $1.5 billion in loan guarantees from...

Massive job cuts at General Motors, America's largest carmaker — coupled with the bankruptcy of Delphi, America's biggest autoparts maker — have provoked predictable handwringing from liberal pundits who worry that America is "losing its manufacturing base." But the wrenching change now buffeting the auto industry defies the usual press formulas. Just listen to Steve Miller a turnaround specialist who is steering Delphi's restructuring process. He exploded the myth of America's "endangered" union manufacturing jobs at his October press conference announcing Delphi's move into Chapter 11: "We cannot continue to pay $65 an hour for someone to cut the grass...

<p>INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana likes having the nation's highest portion of workers -- 20 percent -- in manufacturing, so five days before Delphi, the Michigan-based automobile parts manufacturer, entered bankruptcy, Gov. Mitch Daniels, a Republican who believes that ``conservatism can be active,´´ called Delphi. He praised Indiana as a paradise for even more Delphi operations than are already there.</p>

General Motors Corp. and the United Auto Workers are discussing the possibility of having the car maker offer buyouts to encourage older workers at Delphi Corp., GM's former parts division, to retire, people familiar with the matter said. Such a deal could help Delphi, which is operating under bankruptcy protection, pare its payroll and ease the transition to retirement for some of the auto supplier's 34,500 UAW workers. GM isn't under any obligation to buy out Delphi workers, but such buyouts could help reduce the threat of a strike and labor uncertainty stemming from Delphi's bankruptcy filing. GM is liable...

Senator 'Stunned' By Delphi Offer To Unions Auto Supplier To Appear In Federal Bankruptcy CourtPOSTED: 4:24 pm EDT October 26, 2005 WASHINGTON -- Sen. Debbie Stabenow said Wednesday she was "stunned" by Delphi Corp.'s proposal to union members to slash hourly workers' pay and jettison health and pension benefits, and urged the auto supplier to abandon its strategy. The Michigan Democrat, in a letter to Delphi Chairman and CEO Robert S. "Steve" Miller, called the proposal to the United Auto Workers the "wrong strategy" to help the company come back from bankruptcy protection. "I was stunned to see that Delphi's...

Delphi's bankruptcy filing -- a result of mounting, unsustainable pension costs incurred decades ago -- was grim news for its creditors, its stockholders, and its tens of thousands of workers. But it was also a warning of things to come: for the entire American auto industry, and for Social Security as well. Delphi was a GM division until its spinoff in 1999. As part of that deal, America's largest auto maker granted over 4,000 Delphi employees the right to return to GM. Now, those workers are taking General Motors up on its generous promise. GM will take responsibility for their...

The Debacle of Delphi The industrial welfare state forces the auto-parts giant into bankruptcy. by Richard Burr 10/21/2005 12:00:00 AM WHEN THE LARGEST INDUSTRIAL BANKRUPTCY in American history happened more than a week ago, Washington barely noticed. But the fight between the automotive parts giant Delphi Corporation and its unions could take a big bite out of taxpayers' wallets. The rhubarb started when Delphi, the former in-house parts supplier for General Motors, warned that it was near financial collapse. It couldn't afford to keep paying its workers $25 to $31 an hour, about $52,000 to $64,500 a year--plus benefits. Delphi...

DETROIT — The United Auto Workers , outraged over handsome severance packages proposed for 21 Delphi Corp. executives, some of whom receive upward of $1 million a year, said Friday it will file a complaint with the bankruptcy court against the auto-parts supplier. "It’s disgusting," said UAW spokesman Paul Krell of the severance packages. Five of the top 21 executives receive between $800,000 and $1 million a year. Delphi Chief Executive Officer Steve Miller would not be covered by the severance proposal. Krell said the UAW’s attorney will file a complaint protesting the auto supplier’s Key Employee Compensation Program with...

GM bets the ailing parts maker will win big labor savings -- and it can follow suit Delphi Corp. had barely filed for bankruptcy on Oct. 8 when all eyes turned to General Motors Corp. (GM ) It's not hard to see why. In the weeks leading up to Delphi's announcement, many analysts had figured GM would never allow its former parts unit to file for Chapter 11. Doing so meant the already troubled auto maker could inherit up to $11 billion of Delphi's pension and health-care obligations. Even worse, a bankruptcy judge could force GM to pay more for...

Forget about General Motors' tumbling stock price, its downgraded debt and its potential $11 billion liability. Robert S. "Steve" Miller's move to put Delphi into bankruptcy proceedings is good news for the auto giant and good news for Detroit. We have seen this movie before. Like steel and airlines before it, the traditional U.S. auto industry is struggling mightily, but futilely, to shore up a crumbling edifice. All Mr. Miller has done is push the fast-forward button. The end is now near. The sooner we get to the sequel, the better.

By GREG KEENAN Thursday, October 13, 2005 Page B4 AUTO INDUSTRY REPORTER Industrial America needs to be restructured because soaring labour and health care costs mean U.S. companies can't compete globally, says the chairman of auto parts giant Delphi Corp., which was granted bankruptcy protection last weekend. "Paying $65 an hour for somebody mowing the lawn at one of our plants is just not going to survive anywhere in Industrial America for very long," Robert Miller, chairman and chief executive officer of Delphi told reporters yesterday. "That's just a hard fact of life." The bankruptcy protection of Delphi, the largest...

Delphi Proposals For Labor Contract To Start Oct. 21 By JEFFREY MCCRACKEN Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL October 13, 2005; Page A5 TROY, Mich. -- Delphi Corp.'s chairman and chief executive said the parts maker will make its first contract proposals to its labor unions Oct. 21 in hopes of hammering out new pacts for 45,000 union workers and retirees by early next year. The likely substantial pay cuts would be first felt by workers in the second quarter of 2006, the company said. Robert S. "Steve" Miller also said in a news conference yesterday that the potential...

Delphi bankruptcy seen as watershed for Detroit Monday 10 October 2005, 5:36pm EST By Tom Brown DETROIT, Oct 10 (Reuters) - Courtroom proceedings in a landmark case that could reshape the U.S. auto industry and hurt many people who depend on it for their livelihoods get under way on Tuesday. That's when opening motions are due to be heard in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York on the Chapter 11 filing by auto parts supplier Delphi Corp. (DPH.N: Quote, Profile, Research) that rocked the American auto industry over the weekend. With its move, Delphi -- in effect going to war...

CNBC stated that Bank of America swithed their position on GM to "SELL". It is being mentioned that GM will follow Delphi into Chapter 11. Although GM has 38 Billion in cash and assets, it may not be enough to cover what is certain to be a huge drop in sales during the next few months. If GM files, that will be extremly bad for our economy.