- Jan 7, 2002
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Billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian sent a stern message to General Motors Corp. on Tuesday -- cut wages from the boardroom to the factory floor, chop costs by selling the Saab and Hummer brands, and adopt a sense of urgency to survive.
With GM burning through $24 million of cash a day, the company will run out of money in 1,000 days or sooner unless executives make tough decisions now, Kerkorian aide Jerome York said in a speech delivered on GM territory at the Renaissance Center.
"This situation calls for the company's going into crisis mode, adopting a degree of urgency that recognizes if things don't break right, the unthinkable could happen, that time is of the essence," York told the Society of Automotive Analysts. The society represents those who advise stockholders on automotive investments.
GM Chief Financial Officer Fritz Henderson, the fast-rising executive who took over his current role Jan. 1, exchanged friendly remarks with York before the speech and applauded his remarks afterward.
"I am in crisis mode," Henderson said. "Frankly, there was a lot he had to say today that I agree with."
Until now, Kerkorian and his representatives had not spoken publicly about GM and had not interfered in management of the automaker. But York, former chief financial officer of Chrysler Corp. and IBM Corp., said Tuesday that now was the time to give a detailed remedy for GM's ills.
The owner of MGM Mirage, the gaming company that includes the MGM Grand Detroit casino, Kerkorian has a long history of using his investments to shake up companies, none more notable than during his failed takeover attempt of Chrysler Corp. a decade ago.
Kerkorian made billions from his investment in Chrysler. But last year, he lost hundreds of millions of dollars on his stake in GM as the stock price lost nearly half its value.http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2005601110463
With GM burning through $24 million of cash a day, the company will run out of money in 1,000 days or sooner unless executives make tough decisions now, Kerkorian aide Jerome York said in a speech delivered on GM territory at the Renaissance Center.
"This situation calls for the company's going into crisis mode, adopting a degree of urgency that recognizes if things don't break right, the unthinkable could happen, that time is of the essence," York told the Society of Automotive Analysts. The society represents those who advise stockholders on automotive investments.
GM Chief Financial Officer Fritz Henderson, the fast-rising executive who took over his current role Jan. 1, exchanged friendly remarks with York before the speech and applauded his remarks afterward.
"I am in crisis mode," Henderson said. "Frankly, there was a lot he had to say today that I agree with."
Until now, Kerkorian and his representatives had not spoken publicly about GM and had not interfered in management of the automaker. But York, former chief financial officer of Chrysler Corp. and IBM Corp., said Tuesday that now was the time to give a detailed remedy for GM's ills.
The owner of MGM Mirage, the gaming company that includes the MGM Grand Detroit casino, Kerkorian has a long history of using his investments to shake up companies, none more notable than during his failed takeover attempt of Chrysler Corp. a decade ago.
Kerkorian made billions from his investment in Chrysler. But last year, he lost hundreds of millions of dollars on his stake in GM as the stock price lost nearly half its value.http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2005601110463
