GM Inside News Forum - View Single Post - Obama Transition Said to Consider a ‘Prepack’ Auto Bankruptcy

PhishPhood · 11-21-2008, 11:59 AM

The main stumbling block remains the UAW as you saw from Gettlefinger's commentary in various places. The UAW has three legally binding contracts in hand and it don't have to do squat...unless the BK route is taken.

Then the question is who gets what. What he and the UAW must have is a fully funded VEBA - Helloooo Bailout money - even more than adjustments plus/minus for the current workers. The current workers might accept a little less or some bonus arrangement but they will still have jobs. It's the retirees that have no recourse other than the VEBA and it's empty right now.

The D3 need to get the funding for the VEBA off their books ASAP - Hellooo Bailout money -because that cost structure is keeping them in the RED and burning cash. The three were going to borrow the money to fund the VEBA but that dried up in Sept.

They also need to close outdated plants all over the country. By outdated I don't mean 'old' I mean that these plants were producing midsized and large BOF vehicles. They need to get them off the books.

Then they have to cut the dealer network in half.

Except for Chrysler the detroit products are coming around and the new labor cost structure is probably competitive. So if they can get favorable terms to fund the VEBA early, get old plants off the books, get a more streamlined dealer network and then get the $25 Billion to fund the advanced technology R&D then presumably the ongoing operations will be at least profitable.

11-21-2008, 11:59 AM	#12 (permalink)
PhishPhood 7.0 Liter LS7 V8 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Further on up the road.. Posts: 4,675	Re: Obama Transition Said to Consider a ‘Prepack’ Auto Bankruptcy The main stumbling block remains the UAW as you saw from Gettlefinger's commentary in various places. The UAW has three legally binding contracts in hand and it don't have to do squat...unless the BK route is taken. Then the question is who gets what. What he and the UAW must have is a fully funded VEBA - Helloooo Bailout money - even more than adjustments plus/minus for the current workers. The current workers might accept a little less or some bonus arrangement but they will still have jobs. It's the retirees that have no recourse other than the VEBA and it's empty right now. The D3 need to get the funding for the VEBA off their books ASAP - Hellooo Bailout money -because that cost structure is keeping them in the RED and burning cash. The three were going to borrow the money to fund the VEBA but that dried up in Sept. They also need to close outdated plants all over the country. By outdated I don't mean 'old' I mean that these plants were producing midsized and large BOF vehicles. They need to get them off the books. Then they have to cut the dealer network in half. Except for Chrysler the detroit products are coming around and the new labor cost structure is probably competitive. So if they can get favorable terms to fund the VEBA early, get old plants off the books, get a more streamlined dealer network and then get the $25 Billion to fund the advanced technology R&D then presumably the ongoing operations will be at least profitable.