DETROIT — The new chief executive of General Motors, Frederick A. Henderson, said Tuesday that bankruptcy was “more probable” than ever for the automaker but that he still hoped to successfully restructure the company out of court. “We will get the job done,” Mr. Henderson, who is known as Fritz, said in his first news conference since succeeding Rick Wagoner, who resigned at the request of the Obama administration over the weekend. “We will either do it out of court or we will do it in court,” Mr. Henderson said, “but we will get the job done in terms of recreating and reinventing General Motors as a competitive enterprise, one that wins in the marketplace.”
The administration on Monday rejected the turnaround plans submitted by G.M. and Chrysler, which have borrowed $17.4 billion since December to help them avoid bankruptcy. G.M. now has 60 more days to develop a new plan, and Chrysler was given 30 days to form an alliance with the Italian automaker Fiat.
If either automaker fails to meet the new deadlines, it could be forced into filing for bankruptcy protection, an outcome each has said that they hope to avoid. Mr. Henderson said he thought G.M. could accomplish what it needed to, including concessionary deals with the United Automobile Workers and bondholders who hold about $28 billion of its debt, within the government’s timeframe.
Excerpted from ‘Bankruptcy Is Now ‘More Probable,’ New G.M. Chief Says,’ published March 31, 2009, 2:50 p.m. EST, The New York Times.