GMAC announced today a major restructuring plan for its North American auto finance business. The new plan will reduce GMAC’s work force by 15%, and will consolidate many of its North American offices into larger regional offices.
GMAC says the restructuring is intended “to reduce costs, streamline operations and position the business for scalable growth.”
According to Automotive News, the plan will see sixteen U.S. business offices, three U.S. regional offices and four Canadian business offices absorbed into five regional offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Pittsburgh and Toronto.
Despite the restructuring, the transition should be invisible to dealers. “Most dealers will not see a change in the GMAC representative that services their dealership or their accounts,” GMAC spokeswoman Sue Mallino told Automotive News. “We’re very sensitive to maintaining a presence in local markets, and we will have people stationed throughout the U.S. and Canada in order to stay in tune with local market needs.”
GMAC will cut about 930 of its 6,275 North American jobs — consisting mostly of administrative staff and back-office operations. The cuts should save the company about $175 million annually.
GMAC — which is owned by Cerberus (51%) and General Motors (49%) — posted a net loss of $2.3 billion in 2007, although its auto finance division earned $1.1 billion.
