WASHINGTON: Citing danger to the US economy, the Bush administration came to the rescue of the nation’s auto industry yesterday, offering $17.4 billion in emergency loans in exchange for concessions from the deeply troubled carmakers and their workers.
At the same time, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Congress should authorize the use of the second $350 billion from the financial rescue fund that it approved in October to rescue huge financial institutions. Tapping the fund for the auto industry exhausts the first half of the $700 billion total, he said.
President George W. Bush said, “Allowing the auto companies to collapse is not a responsible course of action.” Bankruptcy, he said, would deal “an unacceptably painful blow to hardworking Americans” across the economy.
One official said $13.4 billion of the money would be available this month and next, $9.4 billion for General Motors Corp. and $4 billion for Chrysler LLC. Both companies have said they soon might be unable to pay their bills without federal help. Ford Motor Co. has said it does not need immediate help.
Bush said the rescue package demanded concessions similar to those outlined in a bailout plan that was approved by the House of Representatives but rejected by the Senate a week ago. It would give the automakers three months to come up with restructuring plans to become viable companies.
If they fail to produce a plan by March 31, the automakers will be required to repay the loans, which they would find very difficult. “The time to make hard decisions to become viable is now, or the only option will be bankruptcy,” Bush said. “The automakers and unions must understand what is at stake and make hard decisions necessary to reform.”
He said the companies’ workers should agree to wage and work rules that are competitive with foreign automakers by the end of next year.
And he called for elimination of a “jobs bank” program — negotiated by the United Auto Workers (UAW) and the companies — under which laid-off workers can receive about 95 percent of their pay and benefits for years. Early this month, the UAW agreed to suspend the program.
Some congressional Republicans decried yesterday’s announcement.
The party’s leader in the House, John Boehner, called the deal “disappointing news” and said that by using federal funds, “Washington has failed both autoworkers and taxpayers.”
Under terms of the loan, GM and Chrysler must provide the government with stock warrants giving it the option to buy GM and Chrysler stock at a specific price.
In addition, the automakers would be required to agree to limits on executive pay and eliminate some perquisites such as corporate jets.
Paulson said that with the help for the carmakers, the government would have allocated the first half of the largest government bailout program in history.
He said he was confident that the Treasury Department, Federal Reserve and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. have the resources to address a significant market crisis if one should occur before Congress approves the use of the second half of the rescue fund. The Federal Reserve is the US central bank, and the FDIC insures most accounts in American banks.
Paulson said he would discuss the process with congressional leaders and Obama’s transition team “in the near future.” Yesterday’s rescue plan retains the idea of a “car czar” to make sure the auto companies are keeping their promises and moving toward long-term viability.
The short-term overseer will be Paulson. The White House deputy chief of staff, Joel Kaplan, said that if the Obama team wants someone else installed to bridge the administrations, Bush is open to that.
Environmental groups said they were disappointed that the rescue plan did not include requirements to build more environmentally responsible cars and urged the incoming Obama administration to make higher fuel efficiency a condition for any additional money next year.
“We believe that if Detroit begins to build highly fuel-efficient cars and reduce global warming pollution, the Big Three will have a good opportunity to both regain market share and protect American jobs,” said Phyllis Cuttino, director of the US Global Warming Campaign for the Pew Environment Group. “This will save consumers money at the pump, curtail our dependence on oil and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.” The White House package is the lifeline desperately sought by US automakers, who warned they were running out of money as the economy fell deeper into recession, car loans became scarce and consumers stopped shopping for cars.
The carmakers have announced extended holiday shutdowns.
Chrysler is closing all 30 of its North American manufacturing plants for four weeks because of slumping sales; Ford will shut 10 North American assembly plants for an extra week in January, and General Motors will close 20 factories temporarily — many for the entire month of January — to cut vehicle production.
Bush said the auto manufacturers have faced serious challenges for many years: Burdensome costs, a shrinking share of the market and plunging profits. “In recent months, the global financial crisis has made these challenges even more severe,” he said.
The president said that on the one hand, the government has a responsibility not to undermine the private enterprise system; on the other, it must safeguard the broader health and stability of the US economy.
“If we were to allow the free market to take its course now, it would almost certainly lead to disorderly bankruptcy and liquidation for the automakers,” he said.
“Under ordinary economic circumstances, I would say this is the price that failed companies must pay,” the president said. “And I would not favor intervening to prevent the automakers from going out of business. But these are not ordinary circumstances. In the midst of a financial crisis and a recession, allowing the US auto industry to collapse is not a responsible course of action.”