Industry News
GM announces management moves and further $1bn Delphi charge
25th May 2007
GM has announced a series of management appointments in its global product development organisation and regional leadership. It has issued new bonds while setting aside a further $1 billion to cover additional Delphi pension liabilities, and has been asked for further accounts clarifications by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Denny Mooney, currently chairman and managing director of GM Holden Ltd. in Australia, has been named to the new position of GM vice president, global vehicle systems and integration, effective from 1st August. He will report to Jim Queen, GM group vice president, global engineering.
Chris Gubbey will become chairman and managing director of GM Holden Ltd, effective from 1st July. Gubbey is currently executive vice president, Shanghai GM. In his new role, he will report to Nick Reilly, GM group vice president and president, GM Asia Pacific.
Bob Socia, 53, currently president and managing director, GM South Africa, will become executive vice president, Shanghai GM, effective from 1 July, reporting to Kevin Wale, president and managing director, GM China Group.
Steve Koch, currently GM Latin America, Africa and Middle East vice president and regional director, Africa and Middle East Operations, will become GM LAAM vice president, African Operations and president and managing director, GM South Africa. Koch will report to Maureen Kempston Darkes, GM group vice president and president, GM Latin America, Africa and Middle East. The appointment is effective from 1st July.
Terry Johnsson, 46, currently regional sales and marketing director, Middle East Operations, will become GM LAAM vice president, Middle East Operations, effective from 1st June. Johnsson will also report to Maureen Kempston Darkes.
GM announced in a regulatory Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) filing yesterday that it expects to take a $1 billion charge in the second quarter and pay a total of $7 billion to cover pension liabilities for workers at Delphi; GM had already set aside $6bn to cover its liabilities in relation to Delphi.
GM also said that it had received a new request for accounting documents relating to forex and commodities purchases from the SEC, which has been investigating GM's accounting practices for nearly two years. GM has twice had to restate five years’ of annual financial accounts following earlier investigations.
- The United Auto Workers Union has reportedly agreed to relieve GM of 385 people from its ‘jobs bank’ in Michigan; they had been laid off on full pay, but will now be offered retraining, relocation or voluntary redundancy packages, as were offered to nearly 35,000 U.S. GM workers last year. After a 75% reduction, analysts quoted by the Detroit News estimate that GM’s jobs bank now includes about 1,600 people.
In view of the other GM financial news above, GM also announced plans yesterday to offer approximately $1.1 billion in convertible debt securities through Citi, Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs, to replace $1.1 billion in convertible securities put to the company in March this year and to “bolster liquidity at a time when the capital markets present an attractive opportunity to do so”.
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