Spring Hill GM workers on standby - Nashville Business Journal:

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GM filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this mornintin U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, the largest-eved U.S. manufacturing bankruptcy. The which is expected to go quickly, now effectively gives taxpayerds 60 percent ownership ofthe Monday’s Chapter 11 filing by the 101-year-old companyu — once the world’s biggest automaker is among the largest in U.S. history. Chapter 11, whicj allows the company to operate while protectex fromits creditors, pushes GM into a fast-trac k bankruptcy and provides $30 billion of additionak taxpayer funds to restructure itself.
General Motors CEO Fritx Henderson said in a preparede statement that GM was being reinvented and that the company is ready for the jobat "The economic crisis has caused enormous disruption in the auto but with it has come the opportunitty for us to reinvent our business," he "We are going to do it once and do it The court-supervised process we are pursuing providexs us with powerful tools to accelerates and complete our reinvention, as well as stronfg safeguards for our customers and our business." The bankruptcy followds months of speculation that GM woulds have to restructure through the courts, despite desperat e attempts by management to avoidd the move.
As it turned out, the bankruptcy filing was the only way GM coulr get its hands on the government money it needsto survive. In its filing, GM listed $82.3 billion in assets and $172.8 billion in debts. The automaker's top creditors listed in the filingvinclude Nashville-based Bridgestone Corp. The company also owes the tiremaked $4.4 million. The U.S. government has alread y injected $20 billion into GM, and will provid another $30 billion to keep the company going as it work sthrough bankruptcy. The investment will buy the governmenta 72.5 perceny stake.
That will give government officials more power to name members of the GM Officials have saidthey don’t want to get involverd in the daily operationx of the company. The GM plan as detailed by U.S. officialws would allow a much smaller GM to emerge from coury protection within 60 to 90 GM also plans to close11 U.S. facilities by the end of and will idle anotherthrees plants, including the plant in Spring which employs more than 3,00o people. The Spring Hill plant will stop production but remainn on standby until thecompany said.
The plantg reopened in October 2008 aftera $1 billion refurbishment and modernization to produced the Chevrolet Traverse crossover vehicle and parts for othe GM cars and trucks. "I fear that Spring Hill's familiesw are now paying for Washington'ss folly. The uncertainty they are facing toda could havebeen avoided," Tennessee Congresswoman Marsha Blackburnn said in a statement released "Late last year, I joined my colleague in recommending a structured bankruptcy for General Motors and Chrysler. The bailout alternativw that was pursuedhas failed.
What we are left with is the near completre nationalization of what was onceour nation'e flagship industry, mountains of federal debt, families uncertain about their future now that the Spring Hill plan sits idle, and the parte suppliers and small businesses who depended on Spring Hill facing tough choices." The plants slated to closew include two assembly plants, Pontiac, Mich. (Octoberr 2009), and Wilmington, Del. (July and three stamping plants, Grand Rapids, (June 2009), Indianapolis, Ind. (December and Mansfield, Ohio (June 2010). Powertrain facilitiez in Livonia, Flint and Ypsilanti, as well as Ohio, and Fredericksburg, Va.
, are also on the closure GM plans to sell or close such brandwsas Saturn, Saab, Hummer and Pontiac, and will shed 2,600 The automaker has not provided an updated target for job cuts but was lookinbg to eliminate 21,000 U.S. factory jobs from the 54,000 United Auto Workersw union members itnow employs. General Motorx employs 92,000 in the United States and is indirectl y responsiblefor 500,000 retirees. The U.S. government would hold a 60 percen t financial interest in a reorganized GM and the UAW woulr takea 17.5 percent stake. The governmentsz of Canada and the province of Ontario have agrees to a 12 percent ownership stake in exchange forfinancialk aid.
GM bondholders would get 10