GM's CFO says company aware of financial crisis

[UpInArms]

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/newsfinder/pulseone.asp?dateid=38727.6173596528-856848855&siteID=mktw&scid=0&doctype=806&property=symb&value=&categories=&

DETROIT (MarketWatch) - General Motors Corp. (GM) CFO Fritz Henderson, responding to criticism from one of its biggest shareholders, told reporters Tuesday the company is fully aware of its deepening financial woes and working hard to reverse them. Blasted by Tracinda Corp. adviser Jerome York for GM's failure to comprehend the crisis it faces, Henderson replied: "I'm already in crisis mode ... I agree with York. There's a sense of urgency, and time is ticking." In response to York's criticism of GM for no longer giving investors financial guidelines, Henderson said "There's a benefit of articulating timing and targets publicly but we're not in a position to do that today." Tracinda, owned by billionarie investor Kirk Kerkorian, currently owns a 7.8% stake in GM.

...short blurb...

[tridim]

1. What are the Vegas odds that GM will fold soon?

It'll be devastating, but a non-expert like myself predicted this 10 years ago. The problem is really simple.. GM hasn't innovated in decades. They just crank out the same old average crap year after year.

[cliss]

2. Oh, Mr. Henderson is not really that desperate.....

Fritz Henderson is wondering what to do, as he has a lunch at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York. He ponders the situation: GM is probably going to go bankrupt.

He thinks about it as the waitress brings him his Lobster Thermidor with chestnut sauce. He lifts up his Perrier water as he tries to decide......lay off 50% of the work force (324,000 employees), or make them all take a pay cut?

Mr. Henderson, however, gets a salary in the millions. He has a guaranteed pension plan, and his GOLDEN parchute is truly golden.

He finally makes a decision: go bankrupt. That will cut loose all those people who thought they were going to get a pension.

[UpInArms]

3. from Reuters

http://today.reuters.com/PrinterFriendlyPopup.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=uri:2006-01-10T204707Z_01_N10356142_RTRIDST_0_AUTOS-SHOW-GM-TRACINDA-UPDATE-2.XML

excerpt:

Hurt by cut-throat competition from more nimble car makers like Toyota Motor Corp. <7203.T>, and by many cars and trucks that can only be sold by offering deep discounts, financial analysts say GM is poised to announce its fifth consecutive quarterly loss when it posts results later this month.

Calling for "equality of sacrifice" between labor and management at GM, York cited recent analyst reports about what could happen with wages, health care and pensions at the company if it actually went bankrupt.

"It's pretty ugly," said York, who was instrumental in previous turnarounds at Chrysler and IBM Corp. <IBM.N>.

...more...

[corporate_mike]

4. keep buying Toyotas :(

[Name removed]

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