The US administration’s auto task force leader stepped down on Monday with General Motors (GM) and Chrysler having exited bankruptcy protection under government-backed initiatives, officials said.
Task force leader Steven Rattner, cofounder of a private equity group, will be replaced by task force member Ron Bloom, a one-time investment banker who joined the steelworkers labor union and helped restructure the US steel industry.
“With the emergence of both General Motors and Chrysler from bankruptcy, we enter a new phase of the government’s unprecedented and temporary involvement in the automotive industry,” US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said in a statement.
GEITHNER’S STATEMENT
“We are extremely grateful to Steve for his efforts in helping to strengthen GM and Chrysler, recapitalize GMAC, and support the American auto industry,” he said.
GMAC refers to General Motors Acceptance Corp, a financial services arm of GM.
“Ron Bloom will assume leadership of the task force’s activities as the government transitions its role away from day-to-day restructuring to monitoring this vital industry and protecting the substantial investment the American taxpayers have made in GM, Chrysler, and GMAC,” Geithner said.
Geithner said that with the help of the task force, “GM and Chrysler have achieved a quick restructuring and the economy avoided the devastation that would have accompanied their liquidation.”
GM issued a statement hailing Rattner’s achievements and looking forward to working with Bloom.
“Steve’s expertise was a key contributor toward a new GM emerging in record time,” said GM president and chief executive officer (CEO) Fritz Henderson.
“His leadership of the Auto Task Force helped support our making the difficult commercial decisions that are necessary to re-invent GM,” he said.
“We also have an excellent working relationship with Ron Bloom and look forward to the opportunity to continue working with him and other members of the Auto Task Force to make GM a viable and globally competitive company,” he said.
Last week, GM transferred its main assets to a new government-financed company under a plan supported by the administration of US President Barack Obama and the Canadian government.
The fast-track plan is similar to the one used to rescue Chrysler, which came out of bankruptcy last month.
The US government — which has provided some US$50 billion in financing — received a 60.8 percent stake in the new firm called General Motors Co.
CHRYSLER
Meanwhile, Chrysler said on Monday that improved demand would allow it to keep open a Detroit plant slated for closure and maintain a third shift at a Canadian facility.
Company officials said the Detroit plant that produces the Viper sports car will stay open, saving 1,500 jobs, and the company’s Windsor, Ontario, facility will keep a third shift that was to be canceled.
“This is great news for our employees, our community and our buyers,” said Reid Bigland, president and CEO of Chrysler Canada. “Demand for our minivans in the second half of 2009 has been steadily rising and this decision will allow us to meet that demand.”
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