Word: gm
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2000-2009
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Street and Main Street has forced the two struggling auto titans to consider the kind of merger that might have been unthinkable only a year ago. In an email monday to Chrysler employees, the company's CEO Robert Nardelli confirmed that Chrysler was holding discussions with potential partners, including GM. "I can tell you that we have approached and have been approached by third parties who are interested in exploring future possibilities with Chrysler," said Nardelli...
Other than that, no one would officially confirm the parties involved in the negotiations. Tony Cervone, GM vice president of communications for North America, said GM was not going to comment on any discussion with Chrysler. "Without referencing this specific rumor, as we've often said, GM officials routinely discuss issues of mutual interest with other automakers," said Cervone. As for Cerberus, Tim Price, an executive with the company said, "I'm not going to comment on private business meetings." But Price added, "Look, everybody is talking to everybody else in the automobile industry...
...dire for both automakers. Chrysler, as a private company, doesn't release quarterly financial information but it has confirmed that it lost $1.9 billion in 2007. (The German corporation Daimler, which still owns 19.9% of Chrysler said the American carmaker lost $510 in the first quarter of 2008.) GM lost $15.5 billion in the second quarter and is expected to post additional losses when it reports its third quarter results at the end of October...
While a merger may make sense in terms of consolidating a troubled industry as a whole, it may not make financial sense given the specifics of GM's situation. While GM has insisted its current reserves of $21 billion can help it weather the economic turmoil and continue its restructuring efforts through 2009, that amount may not be enough to finance a post-merger restructuring of Chrysler. GM is also publicly committed to delivering the new electric Volt automobile before end of 2010 and closing Chrysler plants and technical centers to save cash could violate the spirit of $25 bilion...
Among industry analysts, there is also skepticism whether a merger would even work. "I just don't see the benefit to GM," notes an executive from a key supplier. "I can see the value in terms of reducing overlap and reducing capacity," says Laurie Harbour Felax, an analyst with the Harbour-Felax Group in Clarkston, Mi. "But the cost of doing that are so enormous, you have to wonder if it's really worth it," she says. Chrysler also has relatively few products that are not duplicates of those already sold by GM, she said...