The Late Six O'Clock News - Chrysler Roundup Edition
Sorry this is late... here is a brief roundup on some of the Chrysler fallout. For more, just go to the Free Press or the DNews, they are adding stories all the time.
Ever-optimistic Governor Granholm smacks down all the concerns of the hand-wringers at CNBC. I like it. This is the official statement...
"I'm pleased that the president has given us certainty that Chrysler will survive and thrive. The next two months will be challenging, but the future for Chrysler is now more certain than it has been in a long time, because we know that jobs will remain and new jobs are coming. Chrysler will succeed in a way that brings new technologies, new products and new customers, and that's good for Michigan and the nation. I'm thankful for the huge sacrifices of Chrysler's employees who made this happen and thankful that the president is encouraging the nation to get out and buy American cars."
... but the video is much better.
Read the reaction of Michigan's congressional delegation here. Democrats hopeful, Republicans wary, and the Michigan Republican Party once again will try to take political advantage of the state's pain. Just admit it, they want things to be bad for us - it's the only way they know how to regain power.
Chrysler will shed 8 plants and various equipment for $2.3 billion. No word on which plants yet.
Suppliers shut down three plants today by refusing to ship product, but the plants are going into hibernation Monday anyway, so not sure what that accomplished. Someone else out there buying parts right now?
Nardelli is out after Chrysler emerges from bankruptcy, he will take a job at Cerberus.
The Michigan House voted 76-33 to divest in Oppenheimer Funds, Perella Weinberg Partners' Xerion Capital Fund, and Stairway Cap Management, although we don't have our retirement holdings there, so I'm not sure exactly where we held investments. Nice gesture though, hope the Senate follows suit.
Speaking of Perella, they changed their minds today. Too little, too late, too bad, you're already on the list.
Bill McGraw at the Freep has a brief history of Chrysler and what it has meant to Detroit over the years.