DAVID M. HERSZENHORN e DAVID E. SANGER
Il Senato abbandona il tentativo di salvataggio per i gruppi dell’auto
DAVID M. HERSZENHORN
● Di fronte al rifiuto sindacato dei lavoratori dell’auto (United Automobile Workers – UAW) di accettare la richiesta dei Repubblicani di forti tagli a salari e indennità per il 2009 adeguando il salario orario a quello di Nissan, Toyota e Honda negli USA
● NO della maggioranza repubblicana al Senato al piano di salvataggio auto da $14 MD, con prestiti d’emergenza a GM e Chrysler.
● Dem. e i sindacati che volevano rinviare le misure alla scadenza del contratto UAW nel 2011.
o Parte dei Rep. per il NO preferiscono lasciare che i produttori auto falliscono, altri ritengono eccessivamente debole l’autorità di controllo perché venga attuata una profonda
o ristrutturazione dei gruppi che riceverebbero gli aiuti federali (chiamata zar dell’auto).
o Una proposta di compromesso di un senatore Rep (Corker) imponeva ai produttori auto di ridurre di 2/3 i loro debiti entro il 31 marzo; la sola GM ha un debito di €60MD.
– La Camera l’aveva approvato (237 sì/170 no): 205 Democratici + 32 Repubblicani (per lo più di Stati molto dipendenti dal settore); contro 150 Repubbl. + 20 Dem.
– Il No del Senato è una sconfitta sia per il presidente uscente, Bush (con cui i democr. l’avevano negoziato; Bush avrebbe dovuto nominare il cosiddetto Zar) ma anche per il neoeletto, Obama che aveva chiesto al Congresso di evitare altre perdite occupazionali.
– Il presidente dei Dem al Senato, Harry Reid: il NO al piano avrà conseguenze dirette su milioni di americani.
– Il progetto di legge per il salvataggio auto di Camera e Senato era sostanzialmente uguale, e garantirebbe al governo quote azionarie nei gruppi auto, limiterebbe gli stipendi dei dirigenti, pacchetti premio dorati per i loro licenziamenti, il pagamento dei dividendi agli azionisti durane la fase di emergenza.
● Il piano poneva come condizioni ad azionisti, compresi i creditori, sindacato e venditori di accettare piani generali di ristrutturazione; in caso non ottemperassero, l’autorità per l’auto (zar dell’auto) potrebbe imporre un piano di ristrutturazione, e costringere a fallire i gruppi che non lo attuassero.
o I produttori dovevano chiedere allo Zar il permesso per qualsiasi transazione oltre i $100mn., al fine di evitare il trasferimento di posti di lavoro all’estero, dove i profitti per i gruppi auto sono maggiori. Questo divieto impedirebbe quindi ai gruppi di cercare i mercati più redditizi.
o Un emendamento della Camera obbligava le banche che ricevono un aiuto dal programma di $700 MD del Tesoro, di comunicare i dettagli di ogni nuovo prestito.
– I Dem. del Congresso ipotizzano la possibilità di tenere a galla GM e Chrysler fino all’apertura del nuovo Congresso con una più ampia maggioranza democratica ad inizio gennaio.
– Mentre GM e Chrysler non sono in grado di sopravvivere questo mese senza gli aiuti federali, GM starebbe studiando la possibilità di bancarotta, finora considerata un disastro anche per Chrysler e Ford.
– Ford non intende chiedere prestiti di emergenza, ma ha sollecitato il Congresso ad aiutare i concorrenti, dato che la sorte delle Tre grandi è interconnessa.
o GM sta spendendo oltre 2MD/mese e sarà presto sotto il minimo di denaro contante necessario per pagare fornitori, dipendenti e creditori, e gli interessi sul debito.
– Al No del senato americano al piano di aiuti La Borsa giapponese, Nikkei, ha reagito con un -5,6%; cadute forti anche su altri mercati.
– Pressioni sull’Amministrazione perché prenda provvedimenti autonomi per GM e Chrysler, usando il fondo di stabilizzazione del Tesoro per il sistema finanziario, che però potrebbe essere ormai insufficiente; rimangono $15 MD dei $350MD sborsati dal Congresso; anche i democratici sperano nell’intervento del presidente rep. uscente.
– Finora anche la Fed, pur avendone l’autorità, non ha mostrato di voler intervenire in appoggio all’auto.
– General Motors, compete con Toyota per il 1° posto nel mondo; nel 2007 ha costruito 9,37 mn. di auto; ha complessivamente 266mila addetti, e stabilimenti in 35 paesi.
o in Europa appartengono a GM Opel, Vauxall e Saab; negli USA, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Buick, Hummer e Pontiac; è nata dalla fusione nel 1908 di diversi piccoli produttori americani; GM ha acquisito Opel nel 1929.
– Ford, il 2° gruppo auto degli USA, 80mila addetti negli USA (sett. 2008); ne fanno parte i marchi Ford, Lincoln e Mercury, + Volvo e Mazda.
o fondato nel 1903 da Henry Ford, nel 1913 ha introdotto la produzione a catena nel settore auto.
o 1925, fondata a Berlino la Ford Motor Co; nel 1931 si trasferì a Colonia; Ford Werke GmbH avrebbe oggi circa 30mila dipendenti.
– Chrysler: la maggioranza è detenuta dal gruppo finanziario Cerberus, che nell’estate 2007 ne ha acquisito l’80,1% da Daimler, 49mila salariati. Primo trimestre 2007 registrò perdite per $2MD, nov. 2008 vicina al fallimento.
Chrysler ha i marchi Chrysler, Jeep e Dodge.
House Passes Auto Rescue Plan
By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN and DAVID E. SANGER
WASHINGTON — The House voted on Wednesday to approve a $14 billion government rescue of the American automobile industry, but the bailout plan, which would provide emergency loans to General Motors and Chrysler, was in jeopardy because of strong Republican opposition in the Senate.
o The House approved the rescue plan by 237 to 170, mostly along party lines, with 32 Republicans mainly from states heavily dependent on the auto industry joining 205 Democrats in supporting the measure. Voting against were 150 Republicans and 20 Democrats.
– The White House so far has failed to generate support among Senate Republicans, who have the power to kill the bill.
– General Motors and Chrysler have said they cannot survive much longer without the federal aid, while Ford Motor Company, which is in better shape than its competitors, has said it will not seek the emergency loans.
– As an amendment to the auto rescue plan, the House approved a measure that would require banks receiving assistance from the Treasury’s $700 billion economic stabilization program to detail new lending activity each quarter.
The White House chief of staff, Joshua B. Bolten, attended a lunch at the Capitol with Republican senators to persuade them to back the auto rescue plan but met stiff resistance.
– Some Republican senators said the automakers should be allowed to fail. Others said the proposed oversight of the rescue by a so-called car czar was too weak.
– Senator George V. Voinovich, an Ohio Republican who is one of the few outspoken Republican supporters of a taxpayer-backed rescue, emerged from the lunch sounding deeply pessimistic. Mr. Voinovich said that Senate Republicans had refused to participate in negotiations with the White House because of general opposition to an auto bailout.
“The leadership did not want to participate because they felt whatever came out of the negotiations, they probably wouldn’t support,” Mr. Voinovich said. He said he still intended to vote for the plan.
The Republican leader, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, was noncommittal. The Republicans had a “spirited” discussion about the auto rescue plan, he said, but it was too soon to take a stand because they had just received a final draft of the bill.
“Everybody’s still kind of poring through it, trying to figure out exactly what it does,” Mr. McConnell said. “At this particular juncture, I couldn’t handicap for you the level of support that may exist in our conference. But we did begin a conferencewide learning process during the course of the last hour.”
– Even some auto-state lawmakers were unhappy with the bailout plan the White House helped to design. “While I am fighting to save Missouri auto jobs,” said Senator Christopher S. Bond, Republican of Missouri, “Congress is just putting off the inevitable unless we force the companies to reform fundamentally, which this latest plan fails to do and is why I am offering changes to make it work.”
A number of other Senate Republicans said they had every intention of scuttling a taxpayer-financed rescue for General Motors and Chrysler.
Senator Richard C. Shelby of Alabama, the senior Republican on the banking committee, called the proposal “a travesty” and said that he would filibuster the bill. “This is an instalment on a huge bailout that will come later,” he said.
Others, while critical of the legislation, suggested there was hope of a compromise.
– Senator Bob Corker, Republican of Tennessee, who was working to draft alternative legislation, said the proposal put forward by the White House and Congressional Democrats provided only weak authority for the car czar, who would supervise the sweeping reorganization plans that the automakers have agreed to carry out.
“I have a banking staffer who can carry out the responsibilities of this so-called czar,” Mr. Corker said. “I mean it’s a liaison. This person has no power.”
Mr. Corker said the bill put forward by the Bush administration and Democrats and approved by the House would entangle the federal government in the operations of the auto companies for too long. Without substantial changes, he said, the legislation was unlikely to win passage in the Senate.
“I didn’t see anybody in the group who is willing to blink,” he told reporters. An aide to the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, said the Democrats were trying to negotiate a deal with Mr. McConnell under which there would be several votes on measures intended to aid the auto industry including, perhaps, alternative proposals by Mr. Corker or other Republicans.
– Some Congressional Democrats speculated that if Senate Republicans were kill the rescue plan, the Treasury secretary, Henry M. Paulson, Jr., would have no choice but to keep G.M. and Chrysler afloat, at least until the new Congress begins early next month and wider Democratic majorities are sworn into office.
In the compromise measure that emerged from negotiations with the White House, House Democrats agreed to drop a provision to force the automakers to end their legal challenges to state emissions standards, including a lawsuit in California.
– In the broadest sense, the House and Senate bills provide an identical government rescue of the two most imperiled automakers, G.M. and Chrysler, in the form of $14 billion in emergency loans. In exchange for the loans, the auto manufacturers would have to submit to strict government oversight and carry out sweeping reorganization plans.
– G.M. has not said how it will respond if the federal loans are not forthcoming. It is spending more than $2 billion in cash each month, and is close to falling below the minimum level of cash needed to operate.
Without immediate federal assistance, G.M. would be in danger of not paying its suppliers, employees and creditors, and could miss interest payments on its outstanding debt. Failure to pay creditors, for example, could result in legal actions leading to a forced bankruptcy filing.
“I wouldn’t like to speculate what would unfold, but suffice it to say the survival of the company as we know it would be highly questionable if we don’t get some bridge loan,” G.M.’s vice chairman, Robert Lutz, said in an interview on Monday.
– The bill would also give the government warrants to take an equity stake in the automakers. It would limit executive pay, bar golden-parachute severance packages and prohibit the paying of shareholder dividends while the emergency government loans were outstanding.
– The bill would require the companies and their stakeholders, including creditors, labor unions and dealers to agree on sweeping reorganization plans that would lead to long-term financial viability. If they failed to agree, the auto czar would be able to impose a plan, and could also force the companies into bankruptcy if they failed to meet requirements.
The plan seeks to save the auto industry from what one senior White House official called “30 years of slow suicide.”
The bill sets a March 31 deadline for the automakers to produce long-term viability plans, but it is not certain how the auto czar would determine viability. Joel Kaplan, the deputy White House chief of staff, said that “simply stated, it’s that the firm will have a positive value going forward when you take into account all of its costs.”
Those costs include health care, pensions, salaries and research and development on new technologies, and depending on how they are accounted for, the companies — or the auto czar — could potentially tinker with the meaning of “viable.”
– Mr. Kaplan said the White House goal was “a bridge to either fundamental restructuring, or bankruptcy.”
– The bill would require the automakers to seek permission from the auto czar for any business transaction of $100 million or more. Congressional Democrats said that provision was intended specifically to prevent the companies from taking any steps that would result in American manufacturing jobs moving overseas.
– But with overseas markets presenting better profit opportunities for the automakers these days, the Democrats’ political goal of preserving jobs, and the overarching goal of the rescue legislation — to return the automakers to profitability — could be at odds, with the companies discouraged from seeking the most profitable markets.
The House-approved auto bailout measure would also grant federal judges a cost-of-living increase and would provide federal guarantees for financial deals that some major transit agencies are in danger of defaulting on in part because of the credit crisis.
Bill Vlasic contributed reporting from Detroit.
Senate Abandons Automaker Bailout Bid
By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN
– The Senate on Thursday night abandoned efforts to fashion a government rescue of the American automobile industry, as Senate Republicans refused to support a bill endorsed by the White House and Congressional Democrats.
The failure to reach agreement on Capitol Hill raised a specter of financial collapse for General Motors and Chrysler, which say they may not be able to survive through this month.
– After Senate Republicans balked at supporting a $14 billion auto rescue plan approved by the House on Wednesday, negotiators worked late into Thursday evening to broker a deal but deadlocked over Republican demands for steep cuts in pay and benefits by the United Automobile Workers union[e] in 2009.
– The failure in Congress to provide a financial lifeline for G.M. and Chrysler was a bruising defeat for President Bush in the waning weeks of his term, and also for President-elect Barack Obama, who earlier on Thursday urged Congress to act to avoid a further loss of jobs in an already deeply debilitated economy.
“It’s over with,” the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, said on the Senate floor, after it was clear that a deal could not be reached. “I dread looking at Wall Street tomorrow. It’s not going to be a pleasant sight.”
Mr. Reid added: “This is going to be a very, very bad Christmas for a lot of people as a result of what takes place here tonight.”
The Republican leader, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, said: “We have had before us this whole question of the viability of the American automobile manufacturers. None of us want to see them go down, but very few of us had anything to do with the dilemma that they have created for themselves.”
– Mr. McConnell added: “The administration negotiated in good faith with the Democratic majority a proposal that was simply unacceptable to the vast majority of our side because we thought it frankly wouldn’t work.”
– Moments later, the Senate fell short of the 60 votes need to bring up the auto rescue plan for consideration. The Senate voted 52 to 35 with 10 Republicans joining 40 Democrats and 2 independents in favor.
The White House issued said it would consider alternatives but offered no assurances.
“It’s disappointing that Congress failed to act tonight,” Tony Fratto, the deputy press secretary, said. “We think the legislation we negotiated provided an opportunity to use funds already appropriated for automakers, and presented the best chance to avoid a disorderly bankruptcy while ensuring taxpayer funds only go to firms whose stakeholders were prepared to make difficult decisions to become viable. We will evaluate our options in light of the breakdown in Congress.”
– Markets reacted quickly in Asia. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index closed down 5.6 percent after the proposal failed and other markets registered substantial retreats as well.
– Immediately after the vote, the Bush administration was already coming under pressure to act on its own to prop up G.M. and Chrysler, an idea that administration officials have resisted for weeks.
– House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other lawmakers called on the administration to use the Treasury’s bigger financial system stabilization fund to help the automakers, but there may not be enough money left to do so.
– About $15 billion remains of the initial $350 billion disbursed by Congress and Treasury officials have said that money is needed as a backstop for existing programs.
Democrats instantly sought to blame Republicans for the failure to aid Detroit, while a number of Republicans blamed the union[e]. But on all sides the usual zest for political jousting seemed absent given the grim economic outlook.
“Senate Republicans’ refusal to support the bipartisan legislation passed by the House and negotiated in good faith with the White House, the Senate and the automakers is irresponsible, especially at a time of economic hardship,” Ms. Pelosi said in a statement.
– She added: “The consequences of the Senate Republicans’ failure to act could be devastating to our economy, detrimental to workers, and destructive to the American automobile industry unless the President immediately directs Secretary Paulson to explore other short-term financial assistance options.”
– Senator George V. Voinovich, Republican of Ohio, and a supporter of the auto rescue efforts, said: “I think it might be time for the president to step in.” Senator Christopher S. Bond, Republican of Missouri, also urged the White House to act.
– So far, the Federal Reserve also has shown no willingness to step in to aid the auto industry.
Democrats have argued that the Fed has the authority to do so and some said the central bank may now have no choice but to prevent the automakers from entering bankruptcy proceedings that could have ruinous ripple effects.
G.M. and Chrysler issued statements expressing disappointment.
G.M. said: “We will assess all of our options to continue our restructuring and to obtain the means to weather the current economic crisis.”
Chrysler said it would: “continue to pursue a workable solution to help ensure the future viability of the company.”
– Earlier in the day, G.M. said that it had legal advisers, including Harvey R. Miller of the firm Weil Gotshal & Manges, to consider a possible bankruptcy, which the company until now has said would be cataclysmic not just for G.M. but for Chrysler and the Ford Motor Company as well.
– Ford, which is better financial shape than its competitors, had said it would not seek the emergency short-term loans for the government, but urged Congress to help its competitors because the fates of the Big Three are so closely linked.
The rescue plan approved by the House on Wednesday, by a vote of 237 to 170, would have extended $14 billion in loans to the G.M. and Chrysler and required them to submit to broad government oversight directed by a car czar to be named by Mr. Bush.
But even before the House vote, Senate Republicans voiced strong opposition to the plan, which was negotiated by Democrats and the White House.
At a luncheon with White House chief of staff, Joshua B. Bolten, on Wednesday they rebuffed his entreaties for support.
And on Thursday morning, Mr. McConnell dealt a death blow to the House-passed bill, giving a speech on the Senate floor in which he said that Republican senators would not support it mainly because it was not tough enough.
“In the end, it’s greatest single flaw is that it promises taxpayer money today for reforms that may or may not come tomorrow,” Mr. McConnell said.
Mr. McConnell, however, held out slim hope for a compromise suggesting that Republicans could rally around a proposal by Senator Bob Corker, Republican of Tennessee, to set stiffer requirements for the automakers.
Mr. Obama, whose transition team consulted with Congressional Democrats and the White House on the efforts to help the automakers, urged Congress to act in his opening remarks at a news conference on Thursday in Chicago.
– “I believe our government should provide short-term assistance to the auto industry to avoid a collapse while holding the companies accountable and protecting taxpayer interests,” he said. “The legislation in Congress right now is an important step in that direction, and I’m hopeful that a final agreement can be reached this week.”
But in Washington, there was little appetite among Senate Republicans for yet another multibillion-dollar bailout of private companies. Still, with the Democrats and the White House eager to reach a deal, Mr. Corker’s proposal became the subject of intense negotiations well into the evening.
– Under his plan, the automakers would have been required by March 31 to slash their debt obligations by two-thirds — an enormous sum given that G.M. alone has more than $60 billion in outstanding debt.
– The automakers would also have been required to cut wages and benefits to match the average hourly wage and benefits of Nissan, Toyota and Honda employees in the United States.
– It was over this proposal that the talks ultimately deadlocked with Republicans demanding that the automakers meet that goal by a certain date in 2009 and Democrats and the union[e] urging a deadline in 2011 when the U.A.W. contract expires.
G.M. and Chrysler have said the two companies would likely not survive through this month without government aid, and the companies had already agreed to carry out sweeping reorganization plans in exchange for the help.
The negotiations over Mr. Corker’s proposals broke up about 8 p.m. and Mr. Corker left to brief his Republican colleagues on the developments.
The Republicans senators emerged from their meeting an hour later having decided they would not agree to a deal. Several blamed the autoworkers union[e].
“It sounds like the U.A.W. blew it up,” said Senator David Vitter, Republican of Louisiana.
Senator Richard C. Shelby of Alabama, the senior Republican on the banking committee and a leading critic of the auto bailout proposal, said: “We’re hoping that the Democrats will continue to negotiate but I think we have reached a point that labor has got to give. If they want a bill they can get one.”
The last-ditch negotiations made for a dramatic scene on the first floor of the Capitol, where high-level lobbyists for G.M. and Ford, as well as Stephen A. Feinberg, the reclusive founder of Cerberus Capital Management, the private equity firm that owns 80 percent of Chrysler, gathered with senators and legislative staff in an ornate conference room.
A Democratic aide said that there were no lobbyists present who represented Chrysler.
At times, various participants huddled in corners of the cavernous hallway outside the conference room, shielding their documents and whispering into their cellphones, as a throng of reporters and photographers waited nearby.
Some of the lobbyists and banking committee staff members huddled by two towering windows, looking out on a frigid rain that had been falling all day.
Amerika – Senat lehnt Auto-Rettungsplan ab
"Es ist aus damit": Harry Reid, Mehrheitsführer der Demokraten, in der Nacht in Washington
12. Dezember 2008 Nach elfstündigem Verhandlungsmarathon ist der 14 Milliarden Dollar (10,8 Mrd Euro) schwere Rettungsplan für die amerikanische Autoindustrie im amerikanischen Senat gescheitert. „Es ist aus damit“, sagte der Mehrheitsführer der Demokraten, Harry Reid, am späten Donnerstagabend in Washington. Damit ist das Schicksal der vom Bankrott bedrohten Branchenriesen General Motors und Chrysler ungewiss.
– Eine Einigung im Senat scheiterte an der Weigerung der Auto-Gewerkschaften, die von den Republikanern geforderten tiefgreifenden Lohnkürzungen zu akzeptieren. Damit sollten die Lohnkosten auf das Niveau der japanischen Anbieter in den Vereinigten Staaten gesenkt werden.
– Bis zur Zusammenkunft des neuen Senats im kommenden Jahr werde es „keine weiteren Arbeiten“ an dem Rettungsplan geben, so Reid weiter. Das Abgeordnetenhaus hatte die Gesetzesvorlage, die Notkredite für die Autobauer General Motors (GM), Ford und Chrysler vorsieht, am Mittwoch mit 237 gegen 170 Stimmen verabschiedet.
„Das wird ein schlimmes, schlimmes Weihnachten“
– Reid warnte vor den Auswirkungen der gescheiterten Einigung. Millionen Amerikaner – nicht nur die Autobauer – seien direkt betroffen. „Das wird ein schlimmes, schlimmes Weihnachten für viele Menschen“, so Reid.
Repräsentantenhaus billigt Rettungspaket für Autoindustrie
– Die Demokraten hoffen nun ausgerechnet auf die Hilfe des republikanischen Präsidenten. Nachdem die Parteifreunde von George W. Bush das Gesetz ablehnten, scheint der scheidende Amtsinhaber im Weißen Haus die letzte Rettung zu sein. „Plan B ist der Präsident“, sagte der Demokrat Carl Levin.
– Auch die demokratische Mehrheitsführerin im Kongress, Nancy Pelosi, verwies auf das Weiße Haus. Die Demokraten fordern, die Regierung solle den Autoherstellern kurzfristig Mittel aus dem 700-Milliarden-Dollar-Rettungspaket für die Finanzbranche zur Verfügung stellen. Die sei nun der „einzig gangbare Weg“, mahnte Pelosi.
Bush hat die Verwendung von Mitteln bislang stets abgelehnt, sich aber für das Hilfspaket ausgesprochen. Auch sein Nachfolger Barack Obama hatte an die Senatoren appelliert, mit dem Hilfspaket einen verheerenden Domino-Effekt für die gesamte Wirtschaft zu verhindern.
Kritik an mangelnder Macht des vorgesehenen „Auto- Zaren“
Mit der geplanten Finanzhilfe sollte der Branche eine Atempause verschafft werden. Der 14-Milliarden-Dollar-Plan, der nur begrenzt den Forderungen der Auto-Unternehmen entsprach, war in tagelangen Verhandlungen zwischen den Demokraten und dem Weißen Haus entstanden. Er sah unter anderem vor, dass Präsident George W. Bush einen Beauftragten – einen sogenannten „Auto-Zar“ – ernennt, der die vom Kongress verlangte Umstrukturierung und Sanierung der Unternehmen überwacht. Dieser Auto-Zar hätte die Autobauer notfalls auch in ein Insolvenz-Verfahren zwingen können.
– Republikanische Senatoren hatten auch bemängelt, dass der „Auto-Zar“ nicht genügend Macht habe, um eine tiefgreifende Umstrukturierung durchzusetzen. Der größte Fehler des Plans sei, „dass er heute Steuergelder für Reformen von morgen kostet, die vielleicht kommen oder auch nicht“, meinte der republikanische Minderheitsführer im Senat, Mitch McConnell. Der Plan sichere auf lange Sicht nicht die Überlebensfähigkeit der Autounternehmen.
Die „großen Drei“ der amerikanischen Autoindustrie
– Der Opel-Mutterkonzern GM Motors wetteifert mit Toyota um den Titel des größten Autoherstellers der Welt. Rund 9,37 Millionen Fahrzeuge hat der Autogigant aus Detroit 2007 gebaut.
o Zu den GM-Marken gehören in Europa neben Opel auch Vauxhall und Saab, in den Vereinigten Staaten zudem Cadillac, Chevrolet, Buick, Hummer und Pontiac. GM entstand 1908 aus dem Zusammenschluss mehrerer kleinerer US-Autohersteller. Opel wurde 1929 von GM übernommen. Heute beschäftigt der Konzern rund 266.000 Menschen und verfügt über Fabriken in 35 Ländern. Ein falscher Flottenmix und hohe Aufwendungen für die Gesundheitskosten von Mitarbeitern und Pensionären haben GM in den vergangenen Jahren in die roten Zahlen geführt. GM hatte erklärt, das Unternehmen benötige zum Überleben noch vor Jahresende Hilfszahlungen in Milliardenhöhe.
– Ford ist der zweitgrößte Autobauer in Amerika. Der in Dearborn/Michigan ansässige Konzern beschäftigte Ende September 2008 in den Vereinigten Staaten noch rund 80.000 Mitarbeiter.
o Neben den Marken Ford, Lincoln und Mercury gehören auch Volvo und Mazda zum Konzern. Gegründet wurde der Hersteller 1903 von Henry Ford. Der Unternehmer führte 1913 die Fließbandproduktion in der Automobilindustrie ein. 1925 wurde die Ford Motor Company AG in Berlin gegründet, 1931 siedelte das Werk nach Köln um. Bei der heutigen Ford Werke GmbH arbeiten nach Firmenangaben rund 30.000 Mitarbeiter.
Die Mehrheit an Chrysler hält heute der Finanzinvestor Cerberus. Im Sommer 2007 kaufte Cerberus dem Daimler-Konzern 80,1 Prozent an dem Autobauer ab, der heute rund 49.000 Mitarbeiter beschäftigt. Chrysler, mit den Marken Chrysler, Jeep und Dodge, machte in der Daimlerzeit eine Rosskur mit Personalabbau und Kostensenkung durch und galt zu Anfang des Jahrtausends wieder als fit. Doch 2006 fuhr Chrysler erneut einen Verlust ein. Im ersten Quartal 2007 fiel ein Verlust vor Zinsen und Steuern von fast 2 Milliarden Dollar an. Im November 2008 räumte der amerikanische Autobauer ein, vor dem Abgrund zu stehen. Der stellvertretende Chrysler Chairman Tom LaSorda und der Finanzchef der ehemaligen Daimler-Tochter, Ron Kolka, sagten nach der Senats-Entscheidung das Unternehmen werde ab Jahresanfang in Zahlungsschwierigkeiten kommen.