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本帖最后由 I'm_zhcn 于 2009-6-7 01:15 编辑
【中文标题】通用汽车公司申请破产保护 【原文标题】GM Files for Bankruptcy Protection
【登载媒体】华尔街日报
【来源地址】http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124385428627671889.html 【译文】
JUNE 1, 2009 By KEVIN HELLIKER, KING JR. and D. STOLL
2009年6月1日 作者： 凯文·荷凯勒·小金，D.托尔斯
Second-Largest Industrial Bankruptcy in History; Obama Defends Intervention as CEO Asks Public for 'Another Chance'
历史上第二大的工业破产；奥巴马拥护政府干预；通用首席执政官则请求民众“再给一次机会”
DETROIT -- General Motors Corp. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy early Monday, marking the humbling of an American icon that once dominated the global car industry and setting up a high-stakes gamble for U.S. taxpayers. (See the Chapter 11 filing.)
来自底特律的报道---本周一早，通用汽车集团根据美国联邦破产法第十一章申请破产。这标志着一个曾经主宰全球汽车行业的美国标志开始溃缩，同时也将美国纳税人拉进一个高风险的赌博中。
President Obama is expected to defend General Motors' bankruptcy plan and the massive bailout. The reorganization plan will call for a huge infusion of U.S. tax dollars, but the White House hopes the company will survive.
外界预计奥巴马总统将会拥护通用汽车的破产计划以及其庞大的救助方案。重组计划将会要求大量美国税收的注入，不过白宫仍然希望这个公司能存活下来。
The bankruptcy filing, made in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, marks the climax of a lengthy debate over the auto maker's future after it sought a bailout from the U.S. government in December to stay alive. In the end, GM couldn't complete its restructuring out of court and filed for bankruptcy-court protection to get billions more in aid from U.S. taxpayers.
这个破产申请的审理将会在位于曼哈顿的破产法庭里进行。在去年十二月该公司要求政府帮助它生存下来后，这个案子的出现标志关于该公司前途的辩论已经达到白热化程度。因为通用未能在法庭外完成重组，它只好最后通过申请破产保护来从美国政府那里获得府数十亿额外资金。
The question now facing 56,000 auto workers, 3,600 GM dealers and the Obama administration: Will it work?
现在56000名汽车工人，3600个汽车经销商，和奥巴马政府共同面临的问题是：这样做能行吗？
The U.S. government has agreed to provide GM with another $30 billion in aid, in addition to the $20 billion the auto maker has already borrowed, to see it through its restructuring and exit from bankruptcy protection. In return, the government will get a controlling stake in the company. The Canadian and Ontario governments are putting in $9.5 billion for a 12.5% stake.
在借给通用200亿后，美国政府同意给再给通用300亿援助资金，来帮助它完成重组并走出破产保护。作为回报，美国政府将能够得到这家公司的控股权。加拿大和安大略政府也将投入95亿来换取12.5%的股份。
The reorganization faces myriad risks, ranging from legal challenges to the uncertainty of when consumer demand for new cars will rebound. In becoming GM's new owner, the government is also entering largely unexplored terrain filled with political minefields, notably the possibility of meddling by Congress in the company's daily operations and business plans.
从法律挑战到消费者对新车需求的不确定，重组面临着无数的问题。在成为通用的拥有者的过程中，政府也将进入一个未被探索的、充满地雷的政治领域。这其中最值得注意的便是国会可能会插手该公司的日常运作以及商业计划。
In bankruptcy, the auto maker will split apart into two companies: a leaner new GM and a so-called old GM, which will include the pieces that will be wound down. GM intends to accomplish the split through a Section 363 sale, which would transfer the new GM assets to an entity owned by the U.S. and Canadian governments, the United Auto Workers union and the company's unsecured creditors.
破产后，该汽车制造商将被分为两个公司：一个是一个精简的通用公司，和一个所谓的老通用公司，包括一些最终将会倒闭的部分。通用希望通过销售法第363节来实现这个分裂。这个方法将会把新通用公司的资产转移到一个由美国政府、加拿大政府、联合、美国汽车联合工会和无担保债权人共同拥有的实体名下。
Even if a new GM emerges swiftly from bankruptcy, the administration will face a thicket of challenges, including closing more than a dozen factories and shedding the Pontiac, Saturn, Saab and Hummer brands. Shepherding these unwanted parts of GM -- the so-called Old GM -- through liquidation in court could take years, with potential extra costs to taxpayers if the process bogs down.
即使新通用很快的开始运作，奥巴政府仍然面临着一系列的挑战，包括关闭数十个工厂，以及放弃庞蒂亚克(Pontiac)、萨博(Saab)、土星(Saturn)以及悍马(Hummer)等品牌。通过在法庭上清算来保护这些被遗弃的通用—即所谓的老通用可能要花几年时间，而且如果整个过程拖下去可能还会对纳税人造成更大的损失。
Monday, GM said it will shutter 17 factories and parts centers by the end of 2011, including seven factories in Michigan and plants in Ohio, Indiana and Tennessee. Two of the closures had been previously announced, including a castings factory in Massena, N.Y., which closed May 1. Three of the facilities to close are parts centers and three factories could reopen if market demand rebounds."
周一，通用公司表示将会在2011年底前关闭１７个工厂和一些零件中心。其中两起关闭在之前已经被宣布过，包括一个在纽约Massena的铸件厂。该厂在5月1日已经被关闭。另外3个配件中心将被关闭。而如果市场需求回弹的话，有三个工厂将重新开始运作。
GM's restructuring has been carefully planned by the company itself and the Treasury Department, but it faces some uncertainty now that its fate is in the hands of a bankruptcy judge. The judge chosen to handle the case will have a major impact on the outcome of the case, especially if dissident bondholders mount a legal challenge to the restructuring. There's also the risk that consumers will be scared off by the company's Chapter 11 filing, causing sales to fall even further.
通用的重组是该公司和美国财政部一起详细计划的，不过现在它面着这一些不确定因素，因为它的命运将被放在破产法官的手里。法官的选择对该案的结果具有重大影响，尤其如果不满的持股人联合起来对重组提出法律挑战的话。另外一个风险则是消费者被该公司的重组吓倒，以致销售额进一步下降。
And unknown is how the cost of restructuring both GM and Chrysler LLC would have compared with the cost of letting both companies fail in terms of lost wages, disruptions among car-parts makers and the broader economic fallout. Chrysler, which could emerge from bankruptcy as soon as Monday, will be controlled by Italy's Fiat SpA under its own risky revamping.
在工资无法支付，汽车部件生产商受干扰和大经济环境不景气的情况下，还有一个未知数，那就是通用和克莱斯勒两个公司破产的代价相比哪个会大一些? 克莱斯勒可能在周一便能够脱离破产，他将会被意大利的菲亚特公司控制,而改造克莱斯勒的风险也将由其独自承担。
Bankruptcy should allow GM to pull off one of the most expedient downsizings in the industry's 120-year history. Long hampered by laws, union strife and management practices that kept it from fast action to fix problems, GM plans to eliminate almost all of its debt, halve its U.S. brands, shutter 2,600 dealers and rewrite labor contracts almost overnight.
破产应该能让通用度过这个120年汽车行业历史上最大规模的缩减。长时间以来该公司一直受限于法律、工会和低效管理，导致其修复问题速度极其缓慢。因此通用打算清除几乎所有的债务和一半在美国的品牌，取消2600个经销商，并且在极短时间内重新签订劳工合同。
Emerging sometime this summer would be a GM with a cleaner balance sheet and slimmer operations than the company that has posted deep losses since 2005. GM has burned through $33.6 billion in cash the past four years. Under its restructuring plan, GM will shed more than $79 billion in debt, gain work-force savings worth billions of dollars a year, close unneeded facilities and reduce its dealer network by 40%.
新通用公司将在这个夏季某一时刻出现。和那个自从2005年以后就开始严重亏损的公司相比，这个新公司将会有一个更明了的资产负债表，以及更小的运作规模。在过去四年里，通用烧掉了整整3360亿美元。根据重组计划，通用将关闭不必要的设施，将销售网络减小40%，并将被免除790亿的债务，同时每年还能省数十亿的人工开支。
Associated Press:
The Obama administration, for its part, has navigated the GM rescue so far with notable speed, clearing away many of the biggest obstacles in just months with less drama than many expected. In six to 18 months, GM could be a publicly traded company again, administration officials said.
美联社消息：
目前为止，奥巴马政府拯救通用公司的速度仍然值得关注。它在几个月内便清除了一些大障碍，并且尽量避免了戏剧性故事的发生。在6到18月之内，通用可能再次被公开出售，白宫官员说。
Over the weekend, owners of a majority of $27 billion in GM unsecured bonds agreed to a sweetened offer to trade their investment for stock. Days earlier, the UAW signed off on a range of concessions.
本周末，270亿美元无担保债卷的持有人同意让步签署一个条约，将他们的投资换成股份。几天前，美国汽车联合工会已经签署了一系列让步条约。
GM at the last minute also found buyers for some unwanted subsidiaries, including German-based Opel, which is being acquired by a consortium led by Canadian auto-parts supplier Inc., and the Hummer brand, whose buyer remained undisclosed.
在最后一刻，通用还找到了一些愿意购买被遗弃的子公司的买主。这包括基地在德国的欧宝---它将被一个加拿大汽车部件生产商控制的财团购买。还有悍马系列---不过它的买主目前还未确定。
Long-term success for the company depends on a critical question: When will consumer demand for new cars rebound, and with what force? New-vehicle sales in the U.S. have dropped nearly 40% since January, to an annual rate of fewer than 9.5 million a year. At that level, even GM Corp., the world's biggest car maker, is losing money.
该公司的长远成功的还是取决一个关键问题：什么时候汽车消费需求才会反弹，以及究竟什么力量能让它反弹？一月份美国新车销售量已经下降了40%，低至每年950辆的速率。在这种情况下，即使是通用集团，世界上最大的汽车制造商，也在亏损。
Under the restructuring plan, the surviving New GM would break even when the rate of all new-vehicle sales in America reaches 10 million a year. In the view of many analysts, economic recovery should unleash pent-up demand, pushing U.S. sales far past GM's break-even point, though probably not within reach of the historic peak of more than 17 million sales back in 2000.
在这个重建计划下，即使美国新车销售量达到每年一千万辆，存活下来的新通用公司也会破产。很多分析家认为，经济复苏将会刺激被压抑了很久的市场需求，将美国汽车销售量推过通用的破产临界点。不过这可能不会将销售量推回2000年1700万辆的历史最高点。
 。
A Los Angeles GM dealership that recently shut, as part of the auto maker's downsizing.
作为该汽车生产商规模缩减的一部分，一个洛杉矶的通用经销商被关闭。
Yet some worry the New GM will emerge under the same management as its predecessor, minus longtime Chief Executive Rick Wagoner. After pushing out Mr. Wagoner in March, the Obama car task force gave the top job at GM to Frederick "Fritz" Henderson, a 25-year veteran whose father worked at the company.
然而有些人担心新通用公司诞生时会带着老管理层一起出现，只不过这次少了总裁里克·瓦戈纳。在把瓦戈纳先生赶走后，奥巴马的队伍将这个高层职位给了弗雷德里克·“弗里茨”·亨德森。这个25岁的老兵的父亲也在通用工作。
In an interview Thursday, Mr. Henderson said he understands that federal officials want results. "They're expecting that we'll get the job done," he said.
在周四的一次访谈中，亨德森先生说他知道联邦官员迫切希望看到结果。“他们指望我们完成任务”他说。
GM won't prosper without halting the lengthy slide in its U.S. market share, to 22% in 2008 from 45% in 1980. It faces the old perception of poor quality that turned swaths of the American market toward foreign-brand models.
如果通用的市场占有率的持续下滑得不到缓解的话，它仍然没法发展。这个数字已经从1980年的45%降至2008年的22%。目前通用的形象仍然是那个只会生产低质量产品，最终把美国市场拱手让给了外国品牌的汽车厂。
"I won't buy another GM," said Dennis Brown, a banker in Cypress, Calif., whose 1980s-vintage Pontiac Fiero and Chevy Chevette suffered a litany of mechanical problems. Current GM models have fared better in quality rankings.
“我不会再买一个通用公司的”，丹尼·斯布朗说。他是以加州赛普拉斯的一个银行家。20世纪80年代，他投资的老式Pontiac Fiero和雪佛兰Chevette品牌因为一连串的机械故障而使他蒙受损失。目前新通车型在质量排名上大有改进。
Beyond quality, trendsetters typically shun Detroit-brand cars, a problem that is especially prevalent among highly educated buyers who also tend to purchase higher-margin vehicles. Car buyers who are college graduates account for 70% of European-brand car sales in the U.S. and 55% of Asian brands -- but only 39% of Detroit-brand car sales, according to J.D. Power & Associates.
除了质量问题以外，消费者通常会回避底特律生产的汽车，这个问题在受教育程度较高的消费者中尤其明显。这个消费人群一般喜欢购买性价比较高的车。根据J.D. Power & Associates 的调查，70%的欧洲车销售额来自于大学生，亚洲车中这一比例占了55%，而对于底特律生产的汽车，这一比例只占39%。
GM hopes to counter its image as a maker of gas guzzlers with the 2010 introduction of the electric-powered Chevrolet Volt. Administration officials have played down the market potential of the Volt because of its expected $40,000 price tag, compared with less than $25,000 for the popular Toyota Prius, a hybrid gas-electric. Even at $40,000, moreover, the Volt will struggle to break even because of the cost of its technology.
通用公司希望能够改变它汽油吞噬者的形象，为此它将在2010年推出电力驱动的雪佛兰Volt汽车。政府官员对该车的市场潜力并不乐观，因为它的价格高达40000美元，远远高于25000美元的丰田Prius气电混合动力汽车。即便它能被以40000美元的价卖出，这款车仍然可能因为高昂的技术价格而破产。
Flags fly outside the General Motors world headquarters in Detroit, Michigan, last week.
上周飘扬在位于底特律的通用汽车总部外的旗帜。
GM's new deal with the UAW, meantime, promises to deliver considerable cash savings, and has been billed as capable of putting GM's labor costs on a level playing field with key rivals such as Toyota and Honda Motor Co. GM cut hourly costs, such as overtime provisions, supplemental unemployment and entry-level pay rates, by at least $1.5 billion annually.
与此同时，通用公司和美国汽车联合工会签订了一个协定。该协定宣称能够让公司节省相当一部分资金，并且能够让通用的人工成本低到可以和其死对头---丰田和本田竞争的程度。通过减少加班费，失业保险和初级人工工资，通用每年能减少15亿美元的开支。
But the car maker won't be entirely out of the woods. It faces heavy retiree-related costs that will cut into profits on every car and truck it builds.
即便如此，该汽车制造商也不能完全摆脱困境。它面临繁重的退休金支付，而这将会减少每一辆生产的汽车所带来的利润。
Because of the way the UAW health-care agreement is set up, GM will still be sending about $600 million to the union annually in the form of preferred stock dividends. Even if GM builds two million vehicles a year in the U.S., a stretch in the current 10-million annual market, it will spend $300 in retiree health-care costs per vehicle it builds in the
因为通用美国汽车联合工会的医疗保险协议十分特殊，该公司每年将会以股份分红的形式付给工会6亿美元。即使通用每年组装2亿辆汽车—虽然在目前每年1000万辆车的市场中这有点夸张---每一辆汽车中还是会有300美元被用来支付医疗保险。
GM faces another challenge related to pension obligations. Once flush thanks to strong investments, GM's pension funds, covering nearly 500,000 Americans, have been drained by the decline in the stock market and by a move by the company to increase pension payments to offset falling health-care benefits and entice older workers to retire early.
在支付福利费用方面还有一个挑战。通用的福利基金覆盖了50万美国人。早些时候拥有因为大量的投资，该基金曾经一度非常充足，然而因为股市下跌，福利增加以及工人提早退休，该基目前金已经枯竭。
As of Dec. 31, GM estimated its U.S. pension funds were underfunded by $12 billion to $13 billion, and would need "significant contributions" as early as 2013.
至十二月三十一日前，通用估计其福利基金已经缺额120亿至130亿美元，并且在2013年前急需“重大资金来源”。
— (Marie Beaudette, Sharon Terlep and Eric Morath contributed to this story.)
Write to Kevin Helliker at kevin.helliker@wsj.com, Neil King Jr. at neil.king@wsj.com and John D. Stoll at john.stoll@wsj.com
---（特约作者：玛丽·比阿得特，沙龙·特勒普，埃里克·莫瑞斯）
如果有您有任何看法，请通过邮件联系凯文•荷凯勒（kevin.helliker@wsj.com） ，尼尔·小金(john.stoll@wsj.com) 或者约翰·D·斯托尔(john.stoll@wsj.com) |
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