2ND UPDATE: Obama Administration Sends Team To Speed Up GM Restructuring
08 April 2009 - 10:20PM
Dow Jones News
The administration of President Barack Obama sent a team of
government officials and experts to Detroit on Wednesday to
accelerate the restructuring of General Motors Corp (GM).
The 15-member team landed in Detroit on Wednesday to work with
GM officials on the company's restructuring plans, said an
administration official, who didn't want to be named.
The Obama team is being led by Treasury official Harry Wilson
and includes experts from Boston Consulting Group and New York
investment bank Rothschild Inc. The team will spend much of the
next two weeks in Detroit, the official said. The goal is to
accelerate the process that Obama laid out last week, when he
called on GM to develop new restructuring plans by June 1.
The official said that team has also been working intensively
with Chrysler LLC, which has been given an April 30 deadline to
complete a partnership with Italian auto maker Fiat.
GM shares were down six cents, or 3%, at $1.95 late
Wednesday.
Also Wednesday, the White House announced that it was sending Ed
Montgomery, the newly named Director of Recovery for Auto
Communities and Workers, to Cleveland to meet with government
officials there. Montgomery is scheduled to meet with Ohio Gov. Ted
Strickland and local officials Thursday to discuss the president's
plans to support the industry and revitalize communities where auto
workers live.
-By Josh Mitchell, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-6637;
joshua.mitchell@dowjones.com