Delphi says to exit bankruptcy it must divest significant portion of US pl

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MI_DELPHI_BANKRUPTCY_MIOL-?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Oct 12, 7:26 AM EDT

Delphi says to exit bankruptcy it must divest significant portion of its U.S. plants

NEW YORK (AP) -- A judge on Tuesday approved the use of $950 million in financing for auto supplier Delphi Corp., which is expected to consolidate or divest a significant portion of its U.S. plants during its stay in bankruptcy court.

-snip-

Earlier, an attorney for Troy, Mich.-based Delphi said the company filed for bankruptcy "to deal with our legacy liabilities in the U.S." He added that much of Delphi's profit is generated abroad and that "we don't make money on what we produce here in the U.S."

-snip-

Delphi beefed up the severance agreements for 21 of its top executives on Friday, the day before it filed for bankruptcy. Under the new agreement, executives will be eligible for 18 months of pay and at least a portion of their bonus if Delphi lays them off or they leave voluntarily. Previously severance packages were capped at 12 months. In exchange, the executives signed agreements promising not to work for competitors for the 18-month period.

-snip-

Separately on Tuesday, the federal agency that insures pension plans said the auto supplier's pension plan is underfunded by $10.8 billion.

-snip-

more...

But why bother..? That, I don't understand off the top of my head. It's a lot of generosity to get them not working for compeditors. They afraid that the people who managed Delphi so well are going to make that much of a difference?

minute that we get that same amount of time in severence pay.


THAT'S the difference.

The executive/political class, and everyone else. These folks will walk away with their pockets stuffed while their former employees are left with no jobs, no pensions, no savings and no relief due to the new bankruptcy law about to take effect.

It is happening everywhere. With a week to go until the new rules take effect, expect to see some really spectacular corporate bankruptcies in the next few days.

can no longer buy the things they make overseas?

It seems this whole thing is going towards this: US consumption is now driven by consumer credit. Eventually, that bubble is going to burst. When it does, people overseas will have all the manufacturing jobs, and then they'll become the consumers of what they produce while we become a banana republic.

It seems to me that we could avoid a lot of misery at home if we work towards lifting up labor prices around the world so that they don't undercut Americans -- ie, the key today is to close the profit gap. Most of the money being made today goes to the owners of capital, and relatively little goes to labor, whether in the US or India, or anywhere else.

In this time of disruptive transistion, I think it should be capital who sacrifices its huge profits in order to smooth the transition globalization is causing. Capital needs to give labor in the US and abroad a much larger % of the profits of business, just like the Marshall plan did with the Japanese when they transition from fascist hyper-capitalism to democratic capitalism in their domestic economy, and the way the New Deal did for the US as it transitioned from fascist hyper-capitalism to democratic capitalism after Industrialization created windfall profits for the owners of capital in the early 20th century.

That way, consumer demand can be sustained in the US and created abroad, and we can become the suppliers for both.

and all executives. Close all their plants and make them headquater where they make their profit. Of course all welfare they recieve and tax deals from states they are in would stop.

For someone to actually say this out loud is incredibly stunning. To the effect of saying that the US, it's workers, and what it owes to the people that made this company on their backs, is now not profitable, and they as a company are following the rest of the pack as profits over patriotism.

We can rail against manufacturing going overseas all we want, but when it comes down to it, there's no way of getting around the fact that it's cheaper to manufacture most things overseas.

Close all their plants and make them headquater where they make their profit.

So in addition to removing all of the manufacturing jobs, you'd like to remove all of the office jobs as well?

past few years?

It's been many, many office jobs, especially those that are higher paying.

I don't think you understand that if we make nothing here, basically we undercut our own national security by being more vulnerable to other countries.

Not only that, but if there are no decent jobs anymore, only sales clerk jobs, nobody will be able to buy the products imported.

Henry Ford understood the simple logic of paying his workers a decent salary, because if the masses don't make enough money to consume the products they make, the corporate heads make no money.

The heads of corporations today are so blinded by their greed and stupidity, they don't even see the obvious.

I don't think you understand that if we make nothing here, basically we undercut our own national security by being more vulnerable to other countries.

No, I understand that very well. I didn't say the situation wasn't completely fucked up.



The heads of corporations today are so blinded by their greed and stupidity, they don't even see the obvious.

The entire chain is broken. Wall Street these days seems to be run by a bunch of day-traders, which means investors demand quick-fix execs who are good at enriching themselves and playing numbers games but not good at running day-to-day operations. Some people (John Chambers at Cisco comes to mind) have bucked this trend, but all in all the quality of management has gone straight to hell.

leaving only wealthy to buy goods from mexico

or their CEOs can make lots of money.

But you can't do both in America.

That's the problem.

everything else is bullshit. if a country doesn't make it's own necessities, eventually it dies. We must have a functional industrial base and make our own products, we can't continue with the joke of "globalization" any longer, it's not gonna work, we're fooling ourselves thinking we're getting 'cheaper' goods. At the same time, we ourselves become cheaper people (who don't get paid squat).

We need to get rid of all the pointless make-work 'service sector' bullshit and put people to real work, making tangible value.

leave the country, since they feel that they can make more money in another country. Make them leave the country and base the corporate main office in the country they feel that they will do the best in, and turn off all tax incentives, tax rebates, and corporate welfare to the company. Let them see what kind of deal they can get somewhere else. Sooner or later they will move again.

We are in our death spiral. We all want wages of 100k+ per year, but still want to buy our socks or whatever at rock bottom prices. Since other countries will always be able to undercut our wages, and thus make things cheaper, our jobs will continue to go overseas. Nobody wants to buy American products when they can save .75 cents buying something made in China.

http://www.cleveland.com/newsflash/cleveland/index.ssf?/base/business-5/112910694120170.xml&storylist=cleveland

10/12/2005, 4:41 a.m. ET
The Associated Press

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — A top Montgomery County official is predicting the financially troubled Delphi Corp. will eventually close all five Dayton-area plants, putting 5,700 employees out of work...

Assistant Montgomery County Administrator Joe Tuss told county commissioners on Tuesday it's difficult to be optimistic about the local plants and said layoffs could come as early as Christmas...

But he said he's worried because four of five local plants are in Delphi's troubled-plants group and the fifth, Delphi Thermal and Interior in Vandalia, is vulnerable as well.

Delphi spokesman Lindsey Williams said no plants are immune but it is too early to tell how the Chapter 11 bankruptcy will affect local plants.

Pink slips and plastic crap at WalMart. Lower wages and worse prospects.

I don't ever want to hear the phrase "global free market" again.

:thumbsdown:
(We need a middle-finger smiley.)

Energy analysts have pointed out that one of the first casualties of high energy prices and oil shortages will be the global economy. When it becomes more expensive to ship goods 12,000 miles from China than to make them locally the current trend will drop rapidly. Of course there will be a lot of disruption in the meantime but eventually goods will be made closer to home out of necessity.

But, with China's industrial might, they can pop out nuke container ships like nothing. No need for oil. Also, they are in the process of buying all of these overseas oil companies to ensure their share of the black stuff. For every failed Unocal buyout bid, they've secured 5 others as well as strategic alliances with Iran, Sudan, Venezuela, and some others that are not enamored with this country. Besides, we won't be able to afford anything working our minimum wage jobs at WalMart. The American century has ended, it is now China's turn, as we become a footnote in global history.