GM CEO: No Bankruptcy Plans, No Further Sell-Offs
By: GM will not consider selling or eliminating any brands besides Hummer and has no plans to declare bankruptcy, Richard Wagoner, General Motors chairman and CEO, said Thursday at the Dallas Chamber of Commerce.
"Our focus on all of our brands is, 'What can we do to make them more profitable?'" he said. "We take advantage of the products we have and in some cases how we want to evolve the product portfolio to the current world," he said.
Wagoner said the rationale behind a potential Hummer sale was because of the "pretty dramatic change in the circumstances" relating to high fuel costs. (See the accompanying video for more.)
GM expects consumers to continue responding to a declining economy and rising gas prices by switching to crossover vehicles, and the company is working to better suit buyers' demands, he said.
"Consumers are reacting in a very logical way, and we need to have the products that [react to] that," Wagoner said. "Meanwhile, those that really use the full capabilities of the SUV’s—whether it’s hunting, whether it’s off-road towing, work usage—we’ll have a great product for them there.”
GM will continue to align its production with anticipated demand, he said.
