Results tagged “chrysler”

A U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge decided to postpone his decision regarding Chrysler's bankruptcy filing after objections from some of the automaker's lenders. Bloomberg News reports:

A group of Chrysler LLC’s secured lenders is seeking to block the bankrupt company’s plan to sell its business at auction this month, arguing that the U.S. government is violating federal law in order to preserve the automaker.

Continue reading "Bankruptcy Judge Postpones Decision On Chrysler"

After failing to make a deal with creditors, automaker Chrysler is expected to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy today in New York. The White House had been pushing for controlled bankruptcy if the automaker wasn't able to restructure in time; according to CNBC, "The talks for a restructuring of Chrysler had had the full support of the company's key stakeholders, including the UAW and the largest creditors, but the rest of creditors did not agree." Bloomberg News reports, "The president’s staff plans to use the filing to pave the way for Fiat Spa to take a 20 percent stake in the Auburn Hills, Michigan-based automaker." President Obama said last night, "I am actually very hopeful, more hopeful than I was 30 days ago, that we can see a resolution that maintains a viable Chrysler automobile company out... It would be a very quick type of bankruptcy, and they could continue operating and emerge on the other side in a much stronger position." Obama will discuss Chrysler today at noon.

In a move that "caught Detroit and Washington by surprise," the Obama administration asked GM CEO Rick Wagoner to resign. Edmunds.com CEO Jeremy Anwyl tells Bloomberg News, "The bailout loans aren’t hugely popular and that’s creating an issue for Obama. One way to make the loans more palatable is to be able to say the person responsible is no longer with GM." GM, which had losses of nearly $31 billion last year, received $13.4 billion last year and wants another $16.6 billion. Chrysler, which hopes for another $5 billion of aid, was told it must complete an alliance with Italian automaker Fiat in the next 30 days. The Wall Street Journal explains, "After over a month of analysis, the administration's auto task force determined that neither company had put forward viable plans to restructure and survive." With this news, stock futures have fallen over worries about auto industry bankruptcies.

of cash left to keep operating. However, it's now a "race against the clock," because it appears it may fall short of the 60 votes needed to pass it as Senate Republicans have voiced opposition to the plan (they think the "Car Czar," appointed to oversee the plan, doesn't have enough authority). Rep. John Dingell (D-Michigan) said, "Without this bridge, we’re going to fall into the biggest calamity this country has known since the Great Depression. A terrible disaster looms."

General Motors released its third quarter results and announced it lost $4.2 billion. The NY Times says the automaker is "closer to running out of cash," as GM said, "G.M.’s estimated liquidity during the remainder of 2008 will approach the minimal level necessary to operate its business.” GM has suspended merger talks with Chrysler and will concentrate on ways to stop the bleeding, like cutting white-collar jobs and other restructuring. The Big Three automakers--GM, Ford, and Chrysler--and the United Auto Workers union are hoping the federal government will help bail out the auto industry. In other auto-related news, gas prices are down in the region.