White House questions viability of GM, Chrysler

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama said Monday that neither General Motors nor Chrysler has proposed sweeping enough changes to justify further large federal bailouts, and demanded "painful concessions" from creditors, unions and others as their price for survival.

Obama also raised the possibility of a controlled bankruptcy to help either or both "restructure quickly and emerge stronger" — uttering the term that industry and union officials have warned repeatedly could lead to the collapse of an entire domestic industry.

With his words, Obama underscored the extent to which the government is now dictating terms to two of the country's iconic corporations — forcing the departure of Rick Wagoner as CEO of General Motors, and bluntly warning it may pull the plug on either or both companies.

The Bush administration late last year approved $17 billion in federal funds to help GM and Chrysler survive. It also demanded both companies submit restructuring plans that the Obama administration would review.

Even as he pronounced their effort unsatisfactory, the president said the administration will offer General Motors "adequate working capital" over the next 60 days to produce a reorganization plan acceptable to the administration.

He said Chrysler's situation is more perilous, and the government will give the company 30 days to overcome hurdles to a merger with Fiat, the Italian automaker. If they are successful "we will consider lending up to $6 billion to help their plan succeed," he said.

Obama spoke at the White House with the Big 3 standing at yet another crossroads. As the president noted, the industry has shed over 400,000 jobs in the past year as the recession took hold. Officials announced last week bailout funds would be made available to companies that supply the automakers, an attempt to keep them afloat.

Obama said he is committed to the survival of an auto industry — on terms that will allow it to compete internationally.

"But we also cannot continue to excuse poor decisions," he said. "And we cannot make the survival of our auto industry dependent on an unending flow of tax dollars."

Chrysler and Fiat must merge or Face Liquidation

From The Ap
Chrysler and Fiat must merge to get more help for the Auto Task Force

Frustrated administration officials, speaking on condition of anonymity ahead of Obama's announcement, said Chrysler has been given a 30-day window to complete a proposed partnership with Italian automaker Fiat SpA. The government will offer up to $6 billion to the companies if they can negotiate a deal before time runs out. If a Chrysler-Fiat union cannot be completed, Washington plans to walk away, leaving Chrysler destined for a complete sell-off....More

Chrysler’s Nardelli Is Said to Have Been Allowed to Stay in Job

March 30 (Bloomberg) -- Chrysler LLC Chief Executive Officer Robert Nardelli hasn’t been asked to step down ahead of today’s U.S. government announcement about plans for the automaker, people familiar with the discussions said.

General Motors Corp. CEO Rick Wagoner will leave at the request of the Obama administration, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private. The companies are surviving with a combined $17.4 billion in U.S. aid, $4 billion of which went to Chrysler.

Chrysler will be told today that it must complete a planned alliance with Italy’s Fiat SpA to gain access to small-car technology in exchange for giving up a 35 percent equity stake, according to a government official.

With the U.S. not seeking a management change, Nardelli, 60, will get a chance to continue efforts to return Chrysler to profit. Chrysler owner Cerberus Capital Management LP hired the former Home Depot Inc. CEO in August 2007 after buying 80 percent of the third-largest U.S. automaker.

Chrysler said it lost $8 billion in 2008 as the U.S. auto market sank to a 16-year low. The Auburn Hills, Michigan-based automaker’s domestic sales tumbled 55 percent in January and 44 percent in February and asked for $5 billion more in U.S. aid. Chrysler Corp., as it was known then, took out $1.2 billion in government-backed loans in 1980 and repaid the money in 1983.....More

Obama forces Wagoner out at GM

Chrysler gets 30 days to complete Fiat deal, GM 60 days to restructure

Christine Tierney and David Shepardson / The Detroit News

In a dramatic development on the day before President Barack Obama was to unveil his plan for the auto industry, General Motors Corp. Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner stepped down after the administration asked him to resign.

Obama has said he wants to help the U.S. auto industry and is offering GM and Chrysler LLC fresh short-term aid, but he faces mounting public opposition to industry bailouts.

"From the government's perspective, they had to show a visible form of sacrifice," said David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor and the son of a former GM president. "At one level I'm surprised, and at another level, not at all."

GM confirmed the management change just after midnight and Wagoner released a statement."Fritz Henderson is an excellent choice to be the next CEO of GM," Wagoner said. "Having worked closely with Fritz for many years, I know that he is the ideal person to lead the company through the completion of our restructuring efforts."

Henderson, 50, a GM veteran who has led the automaker's European and Chinese operations, has been carrying out the company's restructuring on a day-to-day basis and knows the leaders of Obama's auto task force.

GM also said that Kent Kresa, chairman emeritus of Northrop Grumman Corp., had been named interim non-executive chairman of the board of directors. Kresa became a GM director in 2003.

Wagoner, 56, was a GM lifer who became the company's CEO in 2000 and chairman in 2003.

Industry experts credit Wagoner with pushing through reforms and a landmark labor contract at the 100-year-old automaker, but he may have moved too slowly.

"If you can criticize Rick, it's that he was incremental by nature," said Jeremy Anwyl, chief executive officer for the automotive research site Edmunds.com. "Step by step they were moving forward but they ran out of time."

After losing $82 billion since 2004, GM is subsisting on federal loans as it struggles through one of the most perilous stretches in its history. It has received $13.4 billion from the government and sought up to $16.6 billion more.

The government said late Sunday it will provide GM with an unspecified amount of working capital over the next 60 days.

There will be no immediate management changes at Chrysler, which will receive aid for 30 days as it moves to conclude an alliance with Italy's Fiat SpA.

Obama is scheduled to publicly outline his strategy for the American auto industry today in Washington.

In his statement, Wagoner said he was asked to step down during a meeting Friday at the U.S. Treasury Department.

"I think the need for something symbolic was pretty strong, and this certainly qualifies," Anwyl said.

In its assessment of GM's restructuring plan submitted on Feb. 17, the task force concluded that the plan was not viable, that GM needed a change of leadership, including changing most of the directors on its board.

It also said GM's plans did not go far enough, and it still has too many nameplates. It also said that while the Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric vehicle looks promising, it will probably be too expensive to be commercially successful initially.

Wagoner, who had agreed to work for $1 a year, is barred from getting a golden parachute or a big severance package under the terms of the government's Troubled Asset Recovery Program.

Earlier on Sunday, on one of the morning news shows, Obama said he believed the U.S. auto sector could be restructured to become a successful industry.

"But it's got to be one that's realistically designed to weather this storm and to emerge at the other end much more lean and mean and competitive than it currently is," he said on CBS's "Face the Nation." "And that's going to mean a set of sacrifices from all parties -- management, labor, shareholders, creditors, suppliers, dealers." ...More

Obama and Auto Task Force Are Hands on with Industry Resructuring

David Shepardson / Detroit News Washington Bureau

Washington -- The Obama administration will take a much more hands-on role in the restructuring of General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC, providing both with short-term aid but insisting on and overseeing immediate dramatic changes.

The administration has set strict timetables for GM and Chrysler to complete restructuring and if required changes are not made is likely to force the automakers into bankruptcy in the coming months.

The companies are likely to go even further in cutting staff and closing plants in order to prove their viability.

The administration's auto task force agreed to provide Chrysler with short-term aid for the next 30 days as the automaker works to complete a tie-up with Itay's Fiat SpA and said it would consider loaning the partnership up to $6 billion if a deal can be finalized.

But it warned that if Chrysler and Fiat cannot come to terms on a partnership, the Auburn Hills automaker would not get any more taxpayer money -- a move that would likely force the company's liquidation....more

Fiat CEO says Chrysler proposal will change with Auto Task Force decision

Article From The Detroit Free Press

Fiat CEO says Chrysler proposal will change
Ownership stake may be adjusted

Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne said a proposal for the Italian automaker to take a 35% stake in Chrysler will change in unspecified ways as the companies await a decision as early as Tuesday by President Barack Obama's auto task force that could determine whether the partnership moves forward....More

Obama's Auto Task Force Wants More Fuel Efficient Vehicles

From The Detroit News

New fuel rules to cost autos $1.5B
Higher mileage standards for ailing automakers will increase new vehicle price tags $64 to $126.
David Shepardson / The Detroit News
WASHINGTON -- Stricter fuel economy standards outlined Friday by the federal government for the 2011 model year will cost struggling auto companies nearly $1.5 billion and boost the cost of passenger vehicles an average of $64 for cars and $126 for light trucks.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the additional vehicle cost will be recouped by buyers of pickups, SUVs and minivans, through fuel savings, in an average of 7.7 years. Passenger car buyers will recover that cost in an average of 4.4 years.

"These standards are important steps in the nation's quest to achieve energy independence and bring more fuel efficient vehicles to American families," said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

The Corporate Average Fuel Economy rules set by the Obama administration pegged the 2011 passenger car standard at 30.2 miles per gallon and the light truck standard at 24.1 mpg.

Overall vehicle efficiency climbs to 27.3 mpg in the 2011 model year, up 8 percent over the 2010 model year....More