GM Expected To Restore Some U.S. Dealers

[boomerbust]

Source: cnbc.com

General Motors will begin notifying some of its 1,160 U.S. dealers marked for shutdown that their franchises will be restored after congressionally mandated arbitration, two sources briefed on the matter said Friday.


AP
GM Dealership
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GM planned to terminate franchise agreements with 1,300 U.S. dealers as part of its U.S. government-sponsored bankruptcy last year aimed at returning the company to profitability. Some 1,160 of them have sought arbitration.

The U.S. automaker will begin sending letters notifying some of the dealers who have appealed the closure that they will remain with GM, the sources told Reuters, asking not to be identified because the information has yet to be announced.

GM representatives said GM North America president and sales chief Mark Reuss will provide dealers with updates on the arbitration process at 2 p.m. EST and address the media at 3 p.m. EST. They declined to discuss details of the announcement.



Read more: http://www.cnbc.com/id/35727441

[elocs]

1. The Chevy dealer in my city is closed and sold.

It will not be reopening.

[HopeHoops]

2. My feelings are mixed on this issue.

While I hate to see a business be shut down, we had a glut of GM dealers here, probably too many to support the overall market. That just hurts all of them in the long run. The ones that were shut down could definitely be justified as redundant. They didn't leave any major area without coverage.

That said, I'm glad they're keeping the dealers because the majority of those are probably in rural areas and were targeted because of "underperformance" that would be more a factor of their location than the quality of their sales force. Unfortunately such factors are often ignored by management. It is easier to just say "nuke the bottom 10% based on sales figures" than to spend the time to analyze each individual situation.

[Blue_Tires]

3. hopefully there will be a renewed emphasis on the

customer service experience...

[kpete]

4. GM intends to reinstate more than 600 dealers

Source: The Hill


GM intends to reinstate more than 600 dealers
By Michael O'Brien - 03/05/10 03:35 PM ET

General Motors announced Friday it intended to reinstate more than 600 dealerships it had shuttered during its bankruptcy last year.

GM said that after reviewing 1,100 arbitration claims, the automaker had determined it could reopen a substantial number of dealerships, and sent letters of intent to more than 600 of them.

“We are eager to restore relationships with our dealers, and get back to doing what we do best — selling cars and taking care of customers," GM North America President Mark Reuss said. “The arbitration process creates uncertainty in the market. We believe issuing these letters of intent is good for our customers, our dealers and GM.”

GM had closed roughly 2,000 dealerships during its restructuring and bankruptcy in 2009. The process was financed and directed by the U.S. government, which poured tens of billions in bailout funds into the company in exchange for an equity stake.

Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/85229-gm-will-reinstate-over-600-dealerships

[endless october]

5. glad to see anyone keeping their job these days. nt