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AUTOMAKERS' INDUSTRY CRISIS * WORLDWIDE
* USA - White House won't give autos aid from Wall Street rescue package
Washington,DC, USA -The Detroit News, by Deb Price -November 18, 2008: -- White House press secretary Dana Perino said Tuesday that the Bush administration would "compromise" by allowing domestic automakers access to a $25 billion program for retooling plants but not on extending them a separate $25 billion that congressional Democrats favor... "We are in a situation where we need to move very quickly," Perino said, after predicting that Senate Democrats don't have the votes to pass the additional $25 billion automakers are hoping to get through access to the $700 billion Wall Street rescue package... Perino's comments signaled the White House's reluctance to budge on its differences with Detroit's Big Three and other auto allies. The remarks came as the CEOs of General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC, as well as United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger prepared to testify to a Senate Banking Committee why they urgently need the additional $25 billion...
* USA - Big 3 unlikely to get aid from $700B bailout package
Washington,DC,.USA -The Detroit News, by David Shepardson & Gordon Trowbridge -November 18, 2008: -- The Democrats' plan to carve out $25 billion from the $700 billion Wall Street rescue package was all but dead Tuesday, while the Senate's top Republican endorsed the White House call to rewrite the rules speeding up the Energy Department's retooling program... Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said he backed a White House proposal to drop the fuel efficiency requirements on the $25 billion retooling program to allow automakers to get immediate aid to help them continue to operate... "To basically change the qualifications of the money that we have already appropriated is a sound way to go forward," McConnell said... But House Democrats and many environmentalists oppose that idea, because the funds are supposed to be tied to projects for significant fuel efficiency improvements...
* USA - There are 'one too many' automakers, Bank of America CEO says
Detroit,Mich,USA -The Detroit News, by Nathan Hurst -November 18, 2008: -- The CEO of Bank of America Corp. said Tuesday that he wasn't in favor of a bailout for the Big Three unless it meant major consolidation of the industry... "The Big Three is one too many," Bank of America's Kenneth Lewis told a lunchtime audience at a meeting of the Detroit Economic Club Tuesday afternoon... "I think the American people are suspect of just giving more money and buying more time. They want to see that the companies have in fact changed and the strategies have changed."... Lewis, however, said any federal funding for the Big Three would have to come with stipulations.... "The American people aren't interested in just giving more money and not helping them change," Lewis said. It's best to "make sure the industry survives," rather than providing a quick fix, he said...
Briefling news
* USA - Chrysler dealers to lobby in D.C.
About 30 Chrysler LLC dealers are scheduled to be in Washington today on a 72-hour mission to talk to legislators about support of government assistance for the Detroit Big Three automakers. Chrysler spokesman Stuart Schorr said meetings have been set up with state representatives and senators with the 30 dealers descending on the Hill from about 20 different states. While in Washington, "we'll meet with anyone who will listen," said Jim Arrigo, co-chairman of the Chrysler dealer council and owner of two dealerships in Florida. "I think we can change the minds of those who say, 'Let them go bankrupt.' " The grassroots lobby effort came out of a conference call in which dealers talked about the dire situation of the industry and the need to have their voice heard. Chrysler President Jim Press and head of sales Steve Landry were on the call and offered to help them orchestrate a walk up Capitol Hill...
* USA - Ford to slash Mazda stake to raise cash
Dearborn,Mich,USA -The Detroit News, by Bryce G. Hoffman -November 18, 2008: Ford Motor Co. will sell most of its stake in Japan's Mazda Motor Corp. in an effort to strengthen its balance sheet in the face of a deepening global financial crisis. The Dearborn automaker today announced that it will reduce its stake in Mazda from 33.4 percent to just over 13 percent through the sale of Mazda stock to a group of Mazda's strategic partners, as well as to the Japanese automaker itself. The deal is expected to net Ford about $540 million...
* USA/Japan - GM sells stake in Suzuki for $230M
Tokyo,Japan - Cash-strapped General Motors Corp. will sell its entire stake in Suzuki Motor Corp. for $230 million, the automaker's latest move to stay afloat while awaiting a decision on government aid for the industry. Suzuki said Monday it would buy back the 3.02 percent stake from the American auto giant, which is seeking a $25 billion government lifeline, together with Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC , to weather the deepening economic crisis. Suzuki said GM's stake sale was necessary for the ailing American automaker to raise capital, but the Japanese company insisted it would continue a business partnership with GM. "We fully understand the necessity for GM to raise cash," Suzuki chairman and chief executive Osamu Suzuki said in a statement.
* USA - Getrag facility files for bankruptcy
Getrag Transmission Manufacturing LLC said Monday it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for its Tipton, Ind., facility after Chrysler LLC pulled out of a financing options agreement and left the plant without a primary customer. The $530 million facility was being built for the sole purpose of making dual clutch transmissions for Chrysler, so when the automaker terminated the deal last month, the German manufacturer said it was forced to stop its operations in Tipton and cancel the project. Getrag said the filing only involves the Tipton facility and doesn't affect the other Getrag operations in the United States.
* USA - SKD Jonesville factory cuts 300 jobs
Jonesville,Mich,USA -- SKD Automotive Group LP is trimming more than 300 jobs by Jan. 10 at its plant in the Hillsdale County village of Jonesville. The company informed the village in a letter that was received last week. Village officials say SKD is Jonesville's largest employer. But it's unclear how many people work at the plant and whether SKD is closing the entire operation, which produces metal stampings and welding components. A telephone message seeking comment was left Monday at the company's headquarters in Troy.
* Ky. brake firm asks workers to retire
Elizabethtown,Ky,USA -- A Kentucky-based maker of brakes for automobiles has asked employees to take voluntary retirements and is not filling vacancies in an effort to reduce costs. Akebono Brake Corp ., an employer of 1,900 people nationally and about 950 workers at its Elizabethtown plant, produces brake calipers and friction materials, such as disc brake pads. Akebono's Elizabethtown general manager Carl Lay says Akebono is managing the turbulent economic waters better than many competitors because it supplies brake components for seven of the top 10 cars sold in North America. Akebono also has a development unit in Farmington Hills.
EUROPE
* U.K. - Automakers to request loan aid
London,UK -- Automakers in the U.K. will ask the government for "a package of measures to stimulate demand," including assistance for their loan divisions, the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders said. The group, representing global carmakers including General Motors Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp., will send a letter asking for "access to special liquidity vehicles" as have been provided to banks, SMMT Chief Executive Officer Paul Everitt said today in an interview. U.K. car sales fell 23 percent in October, the sixth consecutive monthly decline, as consumers refrained from making large purchases while Britain's economy headed for recession.
* Italy & Germany: Say no auto aid for now
Trieste,Italy -Associated Press/The Detroit Bews (USA), by Colleen Barry -18 Nov 2008: -- Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are taking a wait-and-see posture on aid to the auto industries that power both economies, while closely watching moves in the United States, the leaders said following a summit in the northern port of Trieste on Tuesday... Automakers have been calling for aid to help them weather the slide in demand with the global financial crisis -- while the United States considers a bailout for Detroit's General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC.... But Berlusconi said that he did not think that aid to the Italian auto industry was necessary at the moment... Merkel also is putting off a decision on aid, after having met with Adam Opel GmbH officials Monday night... The German leader said that the Opel situation was unique, because it is a wholly-owned subsidary of the troubled U.S. automaker General Motors, which is seeking U.S. government help to avoid bankruptcy... "We will wait to see how America supports its auto industry. We don't want our industry to be damaged," Merkel said...
Data from: The Detroit News/Bloomberg News -18 Nov 2008
Labels: automakers' crisis
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