For all Republicans out there, here is some news worth smiling over. General Motors plans to pay back the $6.7 billion in government loans by the end of June. Chairman and CEO Ed Whitacre Jr. said on Tuesday that the company plans to make quarterly installments starting this month with a $1.2 billion payment. Then again, those who went bankrupt also “planned” to pay their bills, so I’ll believe it once that check is officially cashed.
In total, the company has collected a total of $52 billion in aid from the government, i.e. American’s pockets. Out of the sum, $45.3 billion was converted into equity, which the government now has a 61 percent stake on.
No word yet on when GM will go public in the stock exchange, but the move is essential to recovering the rest of the investment on struggling company. What is available for public information is that there are still no candidates to replace the previous CEO, Fritz Henderson. After his abrupt resignation regarding differences over the direction of the company, Whitacre is confident they will find a strong leader.
Perhaps this is why GM can finally pay their loans back now that there is one less executive paycheck to pay. Either way I hope lessons are learned over this era of economic difficulty.
Via: SF Gate
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December 15, 2009Not Such a Dream-Liner
