Re: Hummer For Sale
Taz, One of these the article ? Was the only one's mentioning the possible sale of the HUMMER.
Automotive News
July 7, 2008 - 1:15 am ET
UPDATED: 0/07/08 12:33 p.m. EDT
DETROIT -- A General Motors spokesman today denied the automaker is reviewing any more brands besides Hummer for possible sale.
The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, reported today that GM could shed thousands of white-collar jobs and sell or cease producing certain brands as part of a strategy reevaluation.
The job cuts are likely to be approved when GM's board of directors meets in early August. The reduction would be in addition to earlier announced cuts. The management may also suggest options for raising additional cash to help GM make it through the downturn, and may discuss cutting certain brands, the sources said.
Both moves are part of a broader re-evaluation of GM's strategy and of its ability to meet an internal projection of returning to profitability in 2010, these people said.
GM denied the report.
"No other GM brand (besides Hummmer) is under strategic review, GM spokesman Tony Cervone said in an e-mail to Automotive News today.
GM's sales chief Mark LaNeve, made similar comments to journalists last week.
GM sells under eight different brands, but most, including Buick, Saturn and Saab, struggle to attract buyers. The company has already decided to put its Hummer division up for sale and prospective buyers are thought to include Mahindra & Mahindra.
On the job cuts, GM employs 76,000 white-collar workers globally, with the bulk of the force based in North America, said the report.
All but Cadillac and Chevrolet, which GM considers core to its business, are undergoing close scrutiny, other people said.
In the past few years, as GM has run up massive losses, some board members and some executives have on occasion raised questions about its plethora of brands, only to be rebuffed by CEO Rick Wagoner, the paper said.
The company, hit by rising oil and raw material prices, the credit crunch and the housing downturn, will need to raise as much as $15 billion (9.6 billion euros) in cash to shore up liquidity and bankruptcy is "not impossible" if the U.S. auto market continues to slump, Merrill Lynch said last week.
Thomson Financial and Reuters contributed to this report
Automotive News
July 8, 2008 - 4:37 pm ET
DETROIT -- Mark LaNeve, General Motors' sales chief, told auto dealers today that the automaker is not conducting a strategic review of any brands other than Hummer.
On June 3, GM said it was conducting a review and considering all options, including selling Hummer. Since then, there has been reported speculation that GM is considering cutting other brands in an attempt to save costs.
In a letter to GM dealers, LaNeve cited an article in The Wall Street Journal that mentioned Saturn as being one of the other GM brands under "examination." LaNeve, who is GM's vice president of vehicle sales, service and marketing, denied that is the case.
"We have invested heavily to give Saturn one of the best and freshest lineups in the industry," LaNeve wrote in the letter. "It is true that we constantly review our plan for improving volume and profitability for Saturn and all our brands. This happens literally every day throughout the year."
LaNeve also said he had been asked by reporters as recently as July 1, during GM's monthly sales call with reporters and analysts, about other GM brands undergoing similar reviews. "My answer then and now was the same -- no! Similar to the Hummer situation, we would communicate with you, our dealers, very early in the process if this was the case," LaNeve wrote.
"(LaNeve) felt it was important to send it out because the news article in the Wall Street Journal inaccurately depicted what was going on in GM, so he wanted to clarify it," said GM spokesman Pete Ternes.
"The response by the dealers to Mark's letter, has been overwhelmingly supportive for Mark with things like 'we needed to hear this,' 'we've got your back' and in general very positive and supportive statements."
LaNeve noted that The Journal article speculated that GM will be announcing further cost cuts. LaNeve says he's received numerous inquiries about this as well. To clear the record, he says GM has made substantial cost cuts since 2005, removing $9 billion annually. GM has taken additional action to cut another $5 billion over the next several years, he added, saying, "We continue to seek ways to further reduce our overall cost footprint as a matter of good business practice."
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