A statement made by Charles E. Wilson while president of the General Motors Corporation, a leading United States automobile manufacturer. Wilson later became secretary of the federal Department of Defense.
So, bankruptcy and job losses are good for the country.
GM to Cut 21,000 Jobs, Eliminate Pontiac
FILE--An undated file photo released by General Motors shows a 1968 Pontiac GTO. General Motors is expected to announce it's restructuring plan Monday April 27, 2009, and it will include the discontinuation of the Pontiac brand, maker of the GTO _ one of America's first muscle cars and so popular it inspired the Beach Boys to immortalize it in song. (AP Photo/General Motors, file) (Anonymous - AP)
FILE -- In an April 27, 2009 file photo unsold G6 sedans sit at a Pontiac dealership in Castle Rock, Colo. General Motors is expected to announce it's restructuring plan Monday April 27, 2009, and it will include the discontinuation of the Pontiac brand, and factory closures. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski/file) (David Zalubowski - AP)Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, April 27, 2009; 12:22 PM
The U.S. Treasury would own at least a 50 percent stake in General Motors under a plan the company released today to avoid bankruptcy.
The strategy would essentially formalize the government's control over one of the icons of corporate America.
"I'm a believer in dealing in reality," GM chief executive Fritz Henderson said in announcing the new plan. "We've gotten great support from the Treasury. It has viewed this matter from day one as a kind of private equity investment. It has pushed us in a lot of ways."
The announcement came as the company said it would further shrink the number of workers, dealers and types of cars in an attempt to prepare it for a United States shrunken by the recession.
Henderson said GM will eliminate 21,000 jobs by next year and phase out its Pontiac line as part of a last-ditch restructuring effort to keep the company afloat and win additional government aid.
The company also said it plans to cut its U.S. dealer network at a faster pace than previously announced, from about 6,200 in 2008 to 3,605 by the end of 2010. Its original plan aimed to trim that network down to 4,200 by 2014.
But one of the keys to the strategy for keeping the automaker out of bankruptcy is ridding it of debt by enticing lenders to drop their debt claims in exchange for equity stakes.
GM also said it would offer a debt for equity swap, handing over 225 shares in the company in exchange for every $1,000 in bondholder debt. Bondholders would eventually hold 10 percent of the equity in the reorganized company.
By June 1, the Detroit-based automaker, which has already received $15.4 billion in federal loans, must gain significant concessions from stakeholders to continue to receive aid.
Under the outlines announced yesterday, the federal government would take an equity stake of at least 50 percent, the United Auto Workers would take as much as 39 percent, the company's bondholders would get 10 percent and the existing shareholders 1 percent.
None of the debt-for-equity swaps have been formally reached, however, and it is still possible that the company will be reorganized in bankruptcy court.
In a statement today, the president's auto task force said it will consider GM's plan to give the United States an equity stake in exchange for surrendering some of its debt. "The administration has made no final decision regarding the treatment of its current loan to GM or with respect to any future investments in the company," the statement said.
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