The government of Sweden announced that it would provide backing for a loan that Saab might receive from the European Investment Bank if the Swedish automaker can find a private backer that will provide half the financing required for the deal.
Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt announced the plan, which came on the heels of former GM [...]
Archive for February, 2009
Sweden Will Back Saab If It Can Also Get Private Financing
February 24th, 2009
Published in
Car industry, GM Bailout
Tags: Saab, Sweden Saab
Four Hard Ways to Fix Detroit
February 23rd, 2009
CNN outlines four ways Detroit can be fixed, all at a high cost. CNN estimates the final price tag for a simple bailout could top out at $130 billion for the federal government. In addition to the $39 billion GM and Chrysler have requested, parts dealers and suppliers have asked for bailouts, and consumers may [...]
GM Canada’s Restructuring Plan on Right Track
February 23rd, 2009
The Industry Minister of Canada said GM Canada’s plan for viability, presented to the Canadian government last Friday, is on the right track but no decision will be issued yet on any emergency aid to the Canadian wing of the troubled American automaker.
The minister, Tony Clement, told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC): “We have to [...]
Published in
Chrysler bailout, GM Bailout
Delphi’s Salaried Employees Protest Proposed Benefit Cuts; Hearing Tomorrow
February 23rd, 2009
Delphi, the parts maker that has been spun off from GM and in bankruptcy since 2005, has submitted a request to a bankruptcy judge to relieve the company of its health and benefit obligations to salaried retirees, beginning April 1st. With the change, Delphi would be relieved of $70 million in obligations per year and [...]
Published in
Car industry
Germans Debate Bailout of GM’s Opel Brand
February 23rd, 2009
Members of Germany’s Parliament debated whether to grant state aid to ailing GM German subsidiary Opel. Some lawmakers argued that the bailout money would simply go to GM’s troubled American branch.
Christian Democrats party leader Christian Fuchs argues that GM will receive the money and argues against the bailout.
Published in
GM Bailout
The Incredible Shrinking GM and Chrysler
February 22nd, 2009
If they emerge from their current economic difficulties, GM and Chrysler will be “lesser players on the world stage” according to CNN.
The “sadly shrunken companies” are hard to predict for the short term, but the long term CNN’s auto editor finds easier: Chrysler will be “a bit player in the American market and remain a [...]
Published in
Chrysler bailout, GM Bailout
Tags: Chrysler bailout, GM Bailout
Sander Levin Asks for More Bailouts in USA Today
February 21st, 2009
Michigan Rep. Sander Levin, brother of Senator Carl Levin, makes the case for America bailing out the auto industry as the second half of a debate that ran on USA Today’s editorial page.
Levin argues that the auto companies helped create the middle class and is part of the “fabric of our nation.” Levin blames the [...]
Published in
Chrysler bailout, GM Bailout
USA Today Debate: Further Bailouts for GM and Chrysler?
February 20th, 2009
In USA Today’s featured editorial page debate for Wednesday, February 18, the newspaper’s opinion editors asserted that the government now faces two major questions in regards to the bailout: should taxpayer dollars be handed to Detroit? And what should be done about the many retirees and their dependents who can no longer rely on Detroit [...]
Published in
Chrysler bailout, GM Bailout
Jeffrey Sachs: Detroit’s Big Three Can Be Saved Simply; Experts Disagree
February 18th, 2009
Jeffrey Sachs believes the Big Three should be saved.
Yet the struggle to preserve and resurrect these companies is as vital as ever to the U.S. economy, and even to our environmental future. The Big 3 are not just another industry segment. They are world-leading organizations that can reassume that role in technology and markets with [...]
Published in
Big Three, Car industry
GM and Chrysler Ask for $21 Billion More in Bailout
February 18th, 2009
In its hotly awaited viability plan submitted to the government today, GM requested up to $30 billion more in aid from the federal government and pledged to do its part to save cash by cutting 47,000 jobs worldwide. It will shut five United States factories.
Despite the dire outlook and requests for a total of $30 [...]
Published in
Chrysler bailout, GM Bailout
Tags: GM Bailout