I always thought that at some point the heads of the automakers might resign, but I never thought they'd retire at the request of the White House. Now we are definitely in uncharted territory.
DETROIT – General Motors Corp. Chairman and CEO Rick
Wagoner will step down immediately at the request of the White House, administration officials said Sunday. The news comes as President Obama prepares to unveil additional restructuring efforts designed to save the domestic auto industry.
The officials asked not to be identified because details of the restructuring plan have not yet been made public. On Monday, Obama is to announce plans to restructure GM and Chrysler LLC in exchange for additional government loans. The companies have been living on $17.4 billion in government aid and have requested $21.6 billion more.
1 comments:
The NYT description sounds more accurate: "The White House on Sunday pushed out the chairman of General Motors and instructed Chrysler to form a partnership with the Italian automaker Fiat within 30 days as conditions for receiving another much-needed round of government aid.".
This idea that it is the responsibility of government to keep companies afloat is rooted in the same notion that we should all have big houses with white picket fences, no matter what we can really afford.
Post a Comment