GM Emerges From Bankruptcy After Government Bailout

Source: Washington Post

General Motors emerged from bankruptcy early this morning, when the assets of the old company were sold to a new streamlined company that will become the "new" GM, a source close to the matter said.

The company has scheduled a 9 a.m. press conference to make an announcement.

The sale of the company's assets to the new corporation owned largely by the United States, Canada and the United Auto Workers' retiree health fund had been approved by a judge on Sunday. But the order did not go into effect until yesterday.

The court-approved sale, expected to be completed by today's announcement, will culminate a landmark government bailout.

Critics, including some of GM's creditors, have said the company should simply have been allowed to fail. But U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert E. Gerber wrote in a July 7 ruling that a liquidation would be "staggering" to the public. The company has 225,000 employees, 500,000 retirees, 6,000 dealers and 11,500 suppliers.



Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/10/AR2009071001473.html

They were wrong.

Source: CNN Money

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- After a six-week trip through bankruptcy, the "new" General Motors was born Friday morning owned by the government and free of tens of billions in debt and shed of unaffordable brands, dealerships and plants.

The sale of the valuable assets of the old company to the new GM was completed Friday morning, according to a source familiar with the transaction.

CEO Fritz Henderson is due to make a statement about the closing of the deal at a 9 a.m. press conference.

The new company retains the Chevrolet, Cadillac, GMC and Buick brands, along with most of its overseas operations. It also keeps 4,100 of its 6,000 U.S. dealerships and most of its plants. But 14 U.S. plants will be closed, and the company will eliminate about 20,000 of its 88,000 U.S. employees by the end of the year as it continues to cut costs.

Read more: http://money.cnn.com/2009/07/10/news/companies/new_gm/?postversion=2009071008

---

The summary said nothing about the jobs lost of course:

Automaker finishes 6-week trip through bankruptcy and closes deal to create new company with only 4 top brands and billions less in debt.

But as one knows, job losses are cheered even more at Wall Street than reductions in debt.

None of the overseas operations will result in firings, will they?

GM has sold off most of it's overseas operations. Buick is booming in China. No job losses there.

And management tells workers what to buy and do; they make the big decisions which is why they claim they deserve their (let's face it, excessively obscene these days) salaries.

Wagonwheels doesn't deserve a dime:

http://www.economicpopulist.org/content/gm-offshore-outsourcing-us-jobs
(2009)

http://www.articlealley.com/article_193949_31.html
(2007)

http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2005/12/outsourcing_has.html;jsessionid=ZI3XQ1PIJQEOAQSNDLPCKHSCJUNN2JVN
(2005!)

Why did GM **deserve** to be bailed out? They helped drive their company down and now want our tax dollars to continue their exodus. I'd already heard rumors of GM bringing in offshored components, never mind the rumors of quality, but now there's some proof - in the form of a small handful of web site articles.

:(

had the company just finished tanking. Bailing out the companies is one thing but how about creating jobs for those who have lost theirs, through no personal fault? I'd like to see the creation of federal projects NOW to help mop up the hemorrhage of lost jobs. The next little diddy will be GM execs looking for government blessings for bonuses like AIG.