DETROIT, June 1 (Xinhua) -- General Motors Corp.
drove in the fast lane to revival on the same day of its iconic bankruptcy
filing on Monday, signaling the Obama administration's determination and
confidence in bringing back the industrial giant.
The logo of General Motors Corp. (GM) is
seen in front of the GM headquarters in Detroit, the United States, April
15, 2009. The largest U.S. automaker, General Motors Corp., officially
filed for bankruptcy protection at 8 a.m. EDT (1200 GMT) on Monday, the
largest bankruptcy protection case in the U.S. industrial history.
(Xinhua/Gu Xinrong) Photo Gallery>>>
CONFIDENCE
BOOST
"I am absolutely confident that if well managed, a
new GM will emerge that can ... out compete automakers around the world and that
can once again be an integral part of America's economic future," U.S. President
Barack Obama said in a brief statement televised live at Monday noon.
About four hours before Obama's speech, the
Detroit-based automaker filed a Chapter 11 petition to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court
for the Southern District of New York.
According to a company statement, the U.S. Treasury,
the governments of Canada and Canadian Province of Ontario will support GM
through bankruptcy. They will hold a combined 72 percent in the reorganized GM.
"Worldwide, GM dealers are open for business,
offering competitive financing options on our award-winning vehicles, continuing
to honor our industry-leading warranty coverage, and providing outstanding
service," said GM President and CEO Fritz Henderson.
A new GM is expected to be launched in about 60 to 90
days as a separate and independent company from the current GM.
The new company "will be built from only GM's best
brands and operations, and it will be supported by a stronger balance sheet,"
Henderson said.
"Furthermore, the U.S. Treasury and the Canadian
governments have issued a strong vote of confidence by backing GM's vehicle
warranties," he said.
STRUCTURE RESHAPE
Hoping to quickly emerge from bankruptcy protection
as a new, leaner company, GM will close 14 U.S. factories and three warehouses
to slash its operating costs, affecting 18,000 to 20,000 workers in nine states.
It aims at bringing the total number of plants in the United States from the
current 47 down to 33 by 2012.
The current GM management team will continue to lead
the new GM. GM employees worldwide will become part of the new GM.
GM promises to pay dealers' open accounts and
continue warranty and incentive programs. Essential suppliers and employees will
be paid in the normal course.
OVERSEAS OPERATIONS
GM confirmed that its operations outside the United
States had not been included in the court filing and thus would continue without
interruption.
General Motors CEO Fritz Henderson
speaks at a news conference following GM's bankruptcy filing, at the GM
Building in New York, June 1, 2009. General Motors Corp filed for
bankruptcy on Monday, forcing the 100-year-old automaker once seen as a
symbol of American economic might and dynamism into a new and uncertain
era of government ownership. (Xinhua/Shen Hong) Photo Gallery>>>
An overnight statement from GM China to Xinhua said
the impact of its U.S. parent's bankruptcy "will be minimal to our China
business including our operations and sales."
At a press conference, Henderson stressed China as
the "critical" part both to the current and new GM.
GM has a vehicle manufacturing venture with Shanghai
Automotive Industry Corp. of China. GM vehicle sales in China, its largest
overseas market, surged 50 percent to a monthly record of 151,084 units in
April, in contrast with a sharp decline in the United States.
Last month, GM has confirmed the production of
low-emission Ecotec engines at its joint venture in China, which will be mounted
on the newly launched Chevelet Cruze compact sedan. And it plans to sell about
17,300 China-made compact cars in the United States in 2011 and to triple that
to about 51,500 in 2014, according to a planning document that GM circulated
among U.S. lawmakers.
NEW LINE-UP
The new company will focus on GM's successful brands
-- Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC -- with fewer nameplates and a more
competitive level of marketing support per brand.
Obama said that GM had prepared a "viable and
achievable" plan to rise again, and expressed his confidence that the new GM
would be able to produce "high-quality, safe and fuel-efficient cars of
tomorrow."
In a bid to readjust to the shift in customers' buying
patterns from oil-guzzling SUVs and trucks to fuel-efficient cars, the new
GM announced the launch of a new product line-up in 2009 and 2010, including
the China-manufactured Chevy Cruze.
It has recently introduced Chevrolet Volt, an
all-electric plug-in compact car dubbed the company's "new DNA" that "represents
a fundamental reinvention of the American automobile industry."
"The new GM is here to stay, and our brands position
us to compete well in profitable segments with vehicles that are
second-to-none," said Henderson.
WASHINGTON, June 1 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama
promised on Monday that the U.S. government will invest additional30 billion
dollars in GM, which he was confident will emerge from the bankruptcy protection
process quickly. Full story
NEW YORK, June 1 (Xinhua) -- General Motors CEO Fritz
Henderson said Monday that China will continue to be a key partner of business
of GM.
Speaking at a press conference in GM's New York
building, Henderson said that GM's venture in China is a critical part of GM,
saying its business in China in "growing very fast."
"Our business in China continues to grow very fast, I
should say at torrid pace," he said. "And we are very appreciable of
that." Full story
NEW YORK/DETROIT, June 1 (Xinhua) -- In the largest
industrial bankruptcy ever seen in U.S. history, General Motors Corp., the top
U.S. automaker and once the world's largest corporation, filed for bankruptcy
protection on Monday.
The Detroit-based company, for decades a symbol of
American manufacturing supremacy, corporate culture and even lifestyle, filed a
Chapter 11 petition to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of
New York early Monday morning. Full story
DETROIT, June 1 (Xinhua) -- The largest U.S. automaker
General Motors which has filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy will not abandon its
headquarters in Detroit's Renaissance Center as part of its restructuring, the
Detriot News reported Monday.
President Barack Obama told Michigan's senior members
of Congress during a call Sunday night that GM will remain in the RenCen,
despite enticements from the city of Warren to move there, a congressional aide
briefed on the matter said. Full story
DETROIT, June 1 (Xinhua) -- General Motors Corp. announced
on Monday that it will close or idle 14 plants in more than two years, just
several hours after the troubled carmaker filed for bankruptcy in New York. GM
also reaffirmed it will build a small car at one of its U.S. assembly plants as
it announced on last Friday. Full story
DETROIT, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Many are mourning the
iconic collapse of General Motors Corp. as it is just hours away from its
bankruptcy filing on Monday. But the once largest company in the world may have
been quietly betting on a quick comeback as a leaner automaker.
As 54 percent of GM bondholders announced their
support for a sweetened debt-for-equity offer on Sunday, the GM took another
step forward toward a quick exit from bankruptcy protection which the company is
expected to file on Monday morning. Full story
BEIJING, June 1 (Xinhua) -- The No. 1 U.S. auto
maker, General Motors Corp., is poised for bankruptcy protection on Monday as a
way to seek a rebirth in the wake of a similar move by its rival Chrysler about
one month ago.
The GM, with a history of more than 100 years, is set
to deliver paperwork for its bankruptcy protection at 8 a.m. EDT (1200 GMT), the
largest bankruptcy protection case in the U.S. industrial history, said informed
sources who asked not to be named. Full story
BEIJING, May 31 -- General Motors Corp.
president and Chief Executive Officer Fritz Henderson have scheduled a news
conference in New York on Monday, when the Detroit automaker is expected to file
Chapter 11 bankruptcy, according to media reports Sunday.
GM's board of directors met for a second day Saturday to
make the final decision. The outcome of the meeting could not immediately
be determined. GM and the Treasury Department, which has been guiding the
Detroit automaker toward a rescue plan that will give taxpayers nearly a
three-fourths stake in the company, went into secrecy mode. Full story
DETROIT, the
United States, May 29 (Xinhua) -- The United Auto Workers (UAW) union ratified a
labor deal with General Motors Corp. on Friday, which will help the largest U.S.
automaker to emerge more quickly from a possible bankruptcy.
The contract was approved with an overwhelming 74-percent
vote by its members, the UAW said after a conference at its Detroit headquarters
on Friday afternoon. Full story
