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GM to Washington: More money, please
A GM sign on a steel beam above a highway
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TEXT OF STORY
Steve Chiotakis: General Motors is just one big cash-guzzler. It reported this morning that last quarter, it lost nearly $10 billion and blew through another $6 billion more. That means the automaker will have to go back to the federal trough looking for help. It's the latest blow for a company that just can't seem to get any traction. Here's Marketplace's Jennifer Collins.
Jennifer Collins: For all of last year, General Motors lost $30.9 billion.
Ray Wert: It's a huge number.
That's Ray Wert, editor-in-chief of the auto blog Jalopnik.com:
Wert: To say that it was unexpected would be fallacious. Anyone needs just take a look at the auto sales market and you can see that $30.9 billion is about right.
But the market's showing no signs of restarting anytime soon, and GM's well on its way to blowing through a $13 billion loan it took from the government last year. So today, its executives will be back in Washington with a rather simple pitch:
Wert: Please give us more money.
GM has asked for $30 billion in total aid, and the U.S. has until the end of next month to decide if it'll ante up.
I'm Jennifer Collins for Marketplace.
i think we all see the writing on the wall. the big three havent been profitable for years, just like the american government. If I ran my own business like this do you think i would get a bail out? no I would get laughed at at the bank when i pleaded for more money to help pay my employees.
Why can't GM get it's head on straight? The auto-market is not the same as it used to be; Ford, at least, has realized that and started to change their production numbers and model - as well as their car vs. truck vs. SUV focus.
All you have to do is listen to the Conversation from the Corner office to get that impression.
I'm no auto-industry expert, but does anyone else see this?
