The administration of US President Barack Obama will make about US$500 million available to Chrysler LLC through the end of this month as it seeks to reach an alliance with Fiat, and up to US$5 billion through next month to help General Motors Corp (GM) restructure outside of bankruptcy, an independent oversight report on the Treasury Department’s corporate rescue fund said yesterday.
Separately, the United Auto Workers (UAW) union urged its members to lobby the White House by telephone or e-mail to ensure that workers and retirees are treated fairly in negotiations at both companies on new concessions, which are considered vital for the automakers’ to survive.
“We need President Obama and his auto task force to stand up for the interests of workers and retirees in these restructuring negotiations,” the union said in an appeal on its Web site to members.
The UAW represents about 26,000 workers at Chrysler and 62,000 at GM.
The union is under pressure along with bondholders and banks to help Chrysler and GM slash debt so they can restructure. The central issue for the UAW and the car companies is reaching an accord on restructuring the finances of a multibillion-dollar retiree health care trust.
The administration’s task force does not believe Chrysler can stand alone and is brokering meetings this week in Washington and Detroit to see if a deal with Fiat is possible.
The administration has offered up to US$6 billion to help finance the alliance that would give Chrysler access to Fiat’s small car technology and the Italian automaker a platform for building light trucks and a robust network for selling its vehicles in the US.
Analysts and consultants have questioned whether the companies can close the deal and avert what most believe would be a certain Chrysler bankruptcy.
At the White House on Monday, Obama’s chief spokesman, Robert Gibbs, would not forecast where the talks were headed but said the administration was working “with all of the stakeholders involved” and was hopeful a solution would be found to “continue the Chrysler brand” and strengthen the industry overall.
“The President continues to be involved in this issue and understanding the tremendous economic importance both for the overall industry and for the dozens of communities throughout the country that are dependent upon Chrysler and auto parts suppliers that supply Chrysler for good-paying jobs,” Gibbs said.
The administration last month set aside up to US$500 million to help Chrysler get through this month, a report on oversight of corporate bailout funds prepared by the Treasury Department inspector general said. GM was slated to receive up to US$5 billion through next month.
GM said on Monday it would cut another 1,600 salaried jobs by May 1. The reductions are part of GM’s plan to slash its global salaried work force this year by about 10,000, or 14 percent. GM also aims to cut 37,000 hourly jobs worldwide by the end of the year.
NEXT GENERATION: The four plants in the Central Taiwan Science Park, designated Fab 25, would consist of four 1.4-nanometer wafer manufacturing plants, TSMC said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to begin construction of four new plants later this year, with the aim to officially launch production of 2-nanometer semiconductor wafers by late 2028, Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau director-general Hsu Maw-shin (許茂新) said. Hsu made the announcement at an event on Friday evening celebrating the Central Taiwan Science Park’s 22nd anniversary. The second phase of the park’s expansion would commence with the initial construction of water detention ponds and other structures aimed at soil and water conservation, Hsu said. TSMC has officially leased the land, with the Central Taiwan Science Park having handed over the
The Philippines is working behind the scenes to enhance its defensive cooperation with Taiwan, the Washington Post said in a report published on Monday. “It would be hiding from the obvious to say that Taiwan’s security will not affect us,” Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilbert Teodoro Jr told the paper in an interview on Thursday last week. Although there has been no formal change to the Philippines’ diplomatic stance on recognizing Taiwan, Manila is increasingly concerned about Chinese encroachment in the South China Sea, the report said. The number of Chinese vessels in the seas around the Philippines, as well as Chinese
URBAN COMBAT: FIM-92 Stinger shoulder-fired missiles from the US made a rare public appearance during early-morning drills simulating an invasion of the Taipei MRT The ongoing Han Kuang military exercises entered their sixth day yesterday, simulating repelling enemy landings in Penghu County, setting up fortifications in Tainan, laying mines in waters in Kaohsiung and conducting urban combat drills in Taipei. At 5am in Penghu — part of the exercise’s first combat zone — participating units responded to a simulated rapid enemy landing on beaches, combining infantry as well as armored personnel. First Combat Zone Commander Chen Chun-yuan (陳俊源) led the combined armed troops utilizing a variety of weapons systems. Wang Keng-sheng (王鏗勝), the commander in charge of the Penghu Defense Command’s mechanized battalion, said he would give
AUKUS: The Australian Ambassador to the US said his country is working with the Pentagon and he is confident that submarine issues will be resolved Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd on Friday said that if Taiwan were to fall to China’s occupation, it would unleash China’s military capacities and capabilities more broadly. He also said his country is working with the Pentagon on the US Department of Defense’s review of the AUKUS submarine project and is confident that all issues raised will be resolved. Rudd, who served as Australian prime minister from 2007 to 2010 and for three months in 2013, made the remarks at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado and stressed the longstanding US-Australia alliance and his close relationship with the US Undersecretary