GM CEO Wagoner to Step Down Immediately

Reading some of the posts here it saddens me how many know absolutely nothing about our system much less socialism and/or communism.

What is happening at GM is GM's doing and if they go to the government with hat in hand and beg for a bailout then yes they forfeit the freedom to do as they please... the same is true of the banking and finance industry...

... when they are being bailed out to the tune of tens and hundreds of billions dollars if you think the government doesn't have the right to call the tune afterward you're a fool.

You know whatever happened to pride in this country. I mean we have one big freaking welfare state. Even if I owned a big company like that Id rather go through bankruptcy reorganization than go begging the government for money and let them tell me what to do and how much to pay. What kind of P***ies do we have leading this country today. Wow disgraceful. All these banks and Auto companies and anyone else should be disgraced.

Both major Detroit daily papers are now stating Wagoner was 'forced out' -

Wagoner forced out at GM

General Motors Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Rick Wagoner is stepping down immediately after being asked by the Obama administration to give up his position at the helm of the largest U.S. automaker, people familiar with the situation said.

Wagoner's departure comes on the eve of President Barack Obama's scheduled presentation of his vision for the U.S. auto industry. The president has said he wants to help the struggling industry but faces mounting opposition to bailouts of businesses and industries.

GM declined to comment and it was not immediately clear who would succeed Wagoner, a GM lifer who became the company's chief executive in 2000 and chairman in 2003.

Source : The Detroit News

Obama forces Wagoner out as GM chairman; end of a 31-year career

President Barack Obama's rescue plan for Detroit automakers will be unveiled Monday, but one condition became clear today: the resignation of General Motors Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Rick Wagoner.

As a condition for additional government aid to GM, the Obama administration asked Wagoner to step aside, which Wagoner agreed to do today, people familiar with the plan said. Wagoner’s move, effective immediately, ends a 31-year career with GM.

Not since President Franklin Roosevelt considered taking control of Ford Motor Co. in 1943 from a failing Henry Ford has the federal government pushed for such sway in the management of Detroit’s automakers.

Source : The Free Press

This is huge news here in the Detroit area ... and, not necessarily bad news, either. Maybe some 'new blood' is just what the doctor ordered ...

[edit on 29-3-2009 by visible_villain]

Toyota, Ford and any others that retain their independance from the government are going to kill them. There is no way a company with government involvement is going to be able to function better then a free market run company. In the short term you can borrow money and throw in into the bottomless pit but in the long run I will bet on the free market system any day of the week. Cut the life support now if you want them to restructure properly and have a chance of becoming a profitable company in the future.

Since you seem to think GM guys couldn't possibly get a job in the Obama Administration.

My only response to this is:

AIG director named to Obama tax task force


[edit on 29-3-2009 by projectvxn]

[edit on 30-3-2009 by projectvxn]

I think what you will see over the next few years is the breaking up of the big auto companies into smaller ones... for example... Saturn would cease being a division of GM but become its own company and manufacturer.

The big companies have simply become too unwieldy to be efficient any anymore...

... the same thing happened to steel over the years and the rails... the big 3 will follow suit after all the dust has settled.

reply to post by proudamerican1


I tend to agree with you. While I think this guy probably needed to go, that's GM's decision to make, not Obama's. Now, we're hearing that the administration forced him out? Its one thing to put restrictions on the usage of the bailout funds. Its another entirely to start meddling in the affairs of a private organization. I can't say that I like where this is heading, but oh well.

reply to post by mrwupy


What successful l program has the government ever run? Even the U.S postal service is going under lol and they think they can run a company like GM better then the privet sector? They cant even run the country with out going in to huge debt! Don't hold your breath on your job!

reply to post by Verd_Vhett


What a joke... the government has run plenty of successful programs... the problem as always is funding or more specifically underfunding... but that is not the thread's subject.

I find it interesting that the very forces that create the push for mergers and ever larger companies are the very one's that tear them apart as well... in short the need for control.

Originally posted by grover
Reading some of the posts here it saddens me how many know absolutely nothing about our system much less socialism and/or communism.

What is happening at GM is GM's doing and if they go to the government with hat in hand and beg for a bailout then yes they forfeit the freedom to do as they please... the same is true of the banking and finance industry...

... when they are being bailed out to the tune of tens and hundreds of billions dollars if you think the government doesn't have the right to call the tune afterward you're a fool.

You say this as if this bail out was done with the governments money no this is Our money Our Tax Dollars, if anyone should have a say in how things are done with GM or the Banks Its US. The government did not bail them out WE DID, but then again we did not even get a say in that!

The government Gobbling up private industries and taking over sounds like Soicialisam to me! GM will Eventually Fail due to this the government has no business running privet industry when they cant run social security, Medicare, Or even the damn post office, hell they cant even run the country!

[edit on 3/30/2009 by Verd_Vhett]

What rubbish... if it sounds like socialism to you go read up on socialism... and pay attention this time.

As for the much used "its our money" nonsense... once you've paid your taxes its no longer your money its the governments.

Besides that name one realistic way the public could ever have a say on how the government spends its money outside of what we have now... elections?

reply to post by grover

Originally posted by grover
I find it interesting that the very forces that create the push for mergers and ever larger companies are the very one's that tear them apart as well... in short the need for control.

"The need for control"?? Control from who? Certainly not the gov't. The gov't should get out of the way and let the free market "control" GM's future. That would be: restructuring under Chapter 11, and if that fails, insolvency.

But please, pushing for gov't control is just the thing we don't need.


[edit on 30-3-2009 by jsobecky]

reply to post by jsobecky


SIGH!!! Companies eat up the competition to control their market... Companies buy related companies to control their resources etc.

It is these impluses that force companies to expand and grow... and it is the very nature of that expansion that tears them apart as well because like GM they have become too unwieldy to be efficient anymore...

That is how I meant it and in that context the government has nothing to do with it.

On a related note when an economy reaches the size ours has it is courting disaster to allow it to grow unregulated... its that simple.

A small but good start - hopefully it's not too late for GM.

Doesn't matter to me if Obama personally ordered it because it's been so long overdue. GM's top mgmt has refused to compete with the top foreign automakers for decades now, relying on an outdated, quarter-century old manufacturing model, blowing whatever profits they had on mgmt bonuses, pay, and stockholder dividends instead on reinvesting it in new technology like the Japanese have been doing for many years and without extravagant payouts for mgmt.

Shame on GM mgmt, their Board of Directors, and the shareholders for maintaining the status quo all these years.

My heart goes out to the GM workers and hope that their jobs can be salvaged through a good, progressive plan to get GM back into competitive status in the industry.

reply to post by grover

Originally posted by grover
reply to post by jsobecky

 

SIGH!!! Companies eat up the competition to control their market... Companies buy related companies to control their resources etc.

It is these impluses that force companies to expand and grow... and it is the very nature of that expansion that tears them apart as well because like GM they have become too unwieldy to be efficient anymore...

That is how I meant it and in that context the government has nothing to do with it.

I can give you one shining example to the contrary: Wal-Mart.

Regardless, what is wrong with a company becoming too large to handle all facets of the business efficiently? That is exactly what spurs competition, spinoff of business divisions, and resultant efficiencies of the market.

The 'controls' are inherently built into the system and are what makes it work.

On a related note when an economy reaches the size ours has it is courting disaster to allow it to grow unregulated... its that simple.

Regulation is good, as long as it's sole focus is to protect the consumer. Fraud, usury, and deception laws need to be established and enforced rigorously.

But telling CEO's how much they can make is not the business of gov't. That is up to the stockholders.

As for the much used "its our money" nonsense... once you've paid your taxes its no longer your money its the governments.

It's still our business how it is spent. It is always our business to oversee those we send to represent us.



[edit on 30-3-2009 by jsobecky]

Okay people. I hate this. For all of the obvious reasons...the Corptocracy, the mixing and merging of government and corporations and all of that. But after reading a bit I hate it even more. The associations, affiliations and future uses of GM manufacturing capabilities.

Or maybe I love it? What technology is coming down the road that we might want GM to be better prepared and positioned to harness?

Behold, the new head of GM:

cryptogon.com...

Woh. Hold on there. Who is Kent Kresa?

In addition to his work as a member of the board of GM, he’s also a Senior Advisor at the Carlyle Group. Since his bio on the Carlyle Group’s website is the most complete one that I came across, I’ll quote from it. Everything in bold references links to the black world of special access programs:

Global private equity firm The Carlyle Group today announced that Kent Kresa, the former Chairman and CEO of Northrop Grumman Corporation, has joined Carlyle as a Senior Advisor to its aerospace and defense group.
…
Mr. Kresa was Chairman of the Board of Directors of Northrop Grumman Corporation from September 1990 until October 2003. He served as Chief Executive Officer from January 1990 until March 2003, and President from 1987 until September 2001. In 1982 he was appointed Group Vice President of the company’s Aircraft Group and in 1986 was named Senior Vice President-Technology Development and Planning. Mr. Kresa joined Northrop Grumman in 1975 as Vice President and Manager of the company’s Research and Technology Center, developing new proprietary processes and products for the company. From 1976-82 he served as Corporate Vice President and General Manager of the Ventura Division, a leader in the production of unmanned aeronautical vehicles.

Before joining Northrop Grumman, Mr. Kresa served with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, where he was responsible for broad, applied research and development programs in the tactical and strategic defense arena. From 1961-68 he was associated with the Lincoln Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.), where he worked on ballistic missile defense research and reentry technology.