DETROIT – A very historic day in the auto industry as General Motors files for bankruptcy. Indeed, it is the president of the United States, Barack Obama, who is publicly making the announcement. Even though GM has been making serious cuts in employment and manufacturing facilities, it is now expected to still get rid of another 21,000 jobs, close 11 plants and get rid of 2,400 dealers. GM is expected to emerge from bankruptcy in 60 to 90 days.
And while most bankruptcy experts scoffed at the idea of a bankruptcy going that quickly, a federal bankruptcy judge approved the sale yesterday of most of Chrysler�??s assets to Fiat, the Associated Press reports. That means Chrysler could be just a week or two away from emerging from bankruptcy, which it entered on May 1. Such a quick turn-around time bodes well for GM�??s bankruptcy. And of course, this is all going so fast because both companies had done so much prep work before filing, and because the White House is the major force in getting this all done.
Good news for Detroit. General Motors will not abandon the city and move its headquarters to the suburbs. According to the Detroit News, President Obama told members of Congress that GM will not move its headquarters to the site of its Tech Center in Warren, Michigan.
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