GM: Bankruptcy or Bailout

GM insiders say the company will present two choices in its submitted report today: more bailout funds from the government, or government backing for a bankruptcy filing.

Last-minute concessions negotiations between the UAW and both GM and Chrysler were said to continue all through last night.

President Obama backed away from a prior promise to appoint a car czar to oversee GM and Chrysler, instead deciding to name a Presidential Auto Task Force under the leadership of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Ron Bloom, a former adviser to the United Steelworkers that told the steel workers’ union to accept major concessions as part of bankruptcy filings. Will Bloom do the same with the UAW and GM? Those who’ve previously worked with Bloom think so.

“The management of the Big Three are probably not going to like what Ron Bloom has to say; the UAW is not going to like what Ron Bloom has to say; and certainly the stockholders and creditors will not like what he has to say,” said Michael Psaros, a co-founder of private-equity group KPS Capital Partners, who has worked with Mr. Bloom in and out of bankruptcy courts. He adds that Mr. Bloom has “repeatedly shown an ability to transform struggling companies into profitable going concerns.”

GM and Chrysler’s plans for viability are to be submitted to the Treasury Department by 5pm today, Tuesday and are required to include concessions from the UAW on labor and healthcare costs. In addition, GM’s bondholders are required to make similar concessions on debt and according to insiders in on the negotiations, the bondholders presented a plan to the GM board on Monday.

What else will the reports include? What else can GM cut?

GM could announce plans to axe one or more brands, including Hummer, Saab, Saturn, or even its old mainstay, Pontiac. GM has previously said that all these brands are on the table. It has also said in previous filings with the government before a bailout was granted that it could decrease American plants from 47 to 38 within four years. The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday that GM will outline a bankruptcy contingency plan in its report, although it has previously said that bankruptcy is untenable. An insider reports that GM will argue that the government would spend more on the company in a bankruptcy situation than it would to keep GM from bankruptcy.

Chrysler could announce a renegotiation of its secured debt (it’s not saddled with the massive amounts of unsecured debt that GM is), plant closings, or international partnerships with Nissan or Fiat, which recently took large shares of the company in exchange for partnership plans for small cars.

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