General Motors cannot wait until Barack Obama‘s January 20th inauguration as President of the United States to get financial aid from the government, CEO Rick Wagoner said in an interview published Monday evening. Rather, the company needs help within the coming weeks to regain stability.
U.S. Congressional leaders have asked Bush administration Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to add the automakers to the $700 billion financial rescue plan, but so far no decision has been made. The current administration has planned on leaving such decisions to Obama’s team, but according to Wagoner, there might not be time for that.
As noted earlier, analysts believe the collapse of GM could spell disaster for other auto giants like Ford , Toyota , and Honda . Not to mention the possible effect it could have on the U.S. economy as a whole.
“This is an issue that needs to be addressed urgently,” Wagoner told Automotive News, stating that now is the time to “overshoot, not undershoot” the scope of assistance.
Wagoner said GM is willing to cap executive pay, give the government preferred stock, and rush more fuel efficient vehicles to market. But he’s unwilling to step down as CEO, and he doesn’t think major management changes will solve the problem.
“I don’t think it’d be a very smart move,” he said. “I think our job is to make sure we have the best management team to run GM. It’s not clear to me what purpose would be served [by resignation].”
