GM boss Ed Whitacre just finished a brief and unenlightening press conference, in which he revealed that he will remain as permanent Chairman and CEO for the foreseeable future. Whitacre refused to set expectations for how long he would remain at the top of the government-owned automaker, simply saying he would stay “for an adequate amount of time to do what we need to do.” He does not anticipate the appointment of a separate President, COO or Chairman of the Board, leaving him in full control of the company. Whitacre also announced that an already-planned payback of $6.7b in government loans would take place in a lump-sum payment this June. He also clarified that GM was in “advanced talks” with the Dutch firm Spyker over the fate of the Saab brand (or what’s left of it) but that GM has not reversed its decision to wind the brand down, and that he had no announcement of any new deal with Spyker. Saab enthusiasts had hoped Whitacre would announce a Spyker deal at today’s press conference. Meanwhile, Saab hopeful Genii Capital has announced the withdrawal of its Saab bid. Otherwise, Whitacre said he was “encouraged” by GM’s situation and that the his emphasis would be on “fine tuning” going forward.
Call Big Eddie — he’s da man!
I just noticed that Ford stock went up again.
Saab enthusiasts (both of them…)
Ed Whitacre:
“Piloting the Titanic, uh, GM, isn’t a bad job… As long as you have your own lifeboat, I mean, AT&T retirement package, near by.”
Who needs money from selling SAAB if the taxpayers are good for the bills?
If by ‘fine tuning’ he means clearing out the dead wood of GM’s corporate structure; then I’m all for it.
“Fine tuning”? What, the big picture at GM is all shaped up now? How’s that Opel/Daewoo/Hummer thing working out for you guys?