Friday, May 15, 2009

GM whacks 1,100 dealers

Hat tip: GreenLadyHere


These numbers will have ripple effects. This is what I mean by taking care of Main Street. The Auto Industry's ripples are far larger than people realize. The sheer number of jobs associated with the auto industry is why I didn't care about the money given to it, and I for damn sure didn't think it should be a loan. There's something so wrong about giving billions- GIVING billions -- to those liars and thieves on Wall Street, while making Main Street beg for crumbs. Where are the wholesale firings at the banks?

I simply do not believe that The President has anyone on this in Treasury that actually SEES this. Oh, I don't mean that they don't know it - in theory, but I'd bet money not a one of them mofos at Treasury is remotely related to anyone or grew up in a house with anyone who actually had to work a blue-collar job. That they knew anyone that didn't wear a suit to work.

From CNNMoney.com:



GM whacks 1,100 dealers
Automaker makes big cut as part of plan to drop 40% of dealer network. Many are expected to leave the business this year.
By Chris Isidore, CNNMoney.com senior writer
Last Updated: May 15, 2009: 4:45 PM ET


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- General Motors notified 1,100 of its 6,000 dealerships Friday that it is terminating their contracts with the struggling automaker, the first step in cutting up to 40% of its retail network.

GM spokeswoman Susan Garontakos said that the dealers receiving notice Friday are being told that their contracts will not be renewed in October 2010. Many of them are expected to close shop this year.

The company is likely to cut another 900 and eventually get its network down to between 3,600 and 4,000 dealers by next year, GM vice president Mark LaNeve said.

Of the 900, about 500 will come from GM's plans to sell or close four brands - Saturn, Hummer, Saab and Pontiac. Another 400 dealers will be eliminated in a second cut as GM continues to restructure.

On top of the dealers GM is cutting, LaNeve said another 400 will be lost through attrition and consolidation. Some will decide to move away from selling GM brands and others will decline to meet the automakers' requirements for additional investment in their facilities.

The company's expectation is that the surviving dealerships will become larger and more profitable as a result of the thinning out, which in turn will allow them to spend more on advertising and facilities. But GM also acknowledges that its long-term decline in U.S. market share will continue as a result of the smaller network of dealers.




Rest of story at link above.

No comments: