GM Set To Exit Bankruptcy
通用汽车脱胎换骨 破产保护即将结束
The new General Motors Co. is poised to exit Chapter 11 protection as soon as Friday morning, and to emerge as a leaner, more focused company after only 40 days in bankruptcy court.
新的通用汽车公司(General Motors Co.)准备最早于周五上午脱离破产保护，作为一家更为紧凑、重点更突出的公司获得新生，通用汽车受破产保护的时间仅为40天。
The quicker-than-expected reorganization could represent a major accomplishment for the Obama administration, which committed $50 billion to GM as part of its bailout of the U.S. auto industry.
快于预期的重组可能成为奥巴马政府的一个重大成就，作为美国汽车行业救助行动的一部分，奥巴马政府承诺向通用汽车提供500亿美元。
The chances of a sustained turnaround hinge on a revamped board of directors the government has installed, in particular the new chairman, Edward E. Whitacre Jr. The former AT&T executive was hand-picked by the government's auto task force. He was charged with keeping a tight watch over GM management and its performance, something the administration believed the previous board didn't do enough of.
通用的状况能否持续好转关键取决于在政府主导下改头换面的董事会，尤其是新任董事长惠塔克(Edward E. Whitacre Jr.)。这位美国电话电报公司(AT&T)前任董事长是政府汽车业工作小组精挑细选出来的。他的责任是密切注意通用汽车的管理以及业绩，政府认为之前的董事会在这方面做得不够。
Mr. Whitacre was in Detroit on Thursday meeting with GM Chief Executive Frederick 'Fritz' Henderson and other top executives to 'give them a pep talk and set the tone,' one person who attended the meeting said. 'His message was that there are big expectations across the board.'
惠塔克周四在底特律与通用汽车首席执行长韩德胜(Frederick 'Fritz' Henderson)和其他高层开会，一位与会人士说，其目的是为了鼓舞士气并定下基调。他所传达的信息是，董事会抱有很大的期望。
On Friday, Mr. Whitacre is expected to appear with Mr. Henderson at a morning news conference to introduce the 'new GM,' and will then meet with other GM board members in the days that follow. Mr. Whitacre has been given briefing books by GM financial staffers to study, according to an executive involved in compiling the books.
周五，惠塔克预计将与韩德胜一道出席上午的一个新闻发布会，介绍“新通用汽车”，随后的几天将会见其他的董事会成员。一名相关人士说，通用汽车财务部门的职员汇编了情况说明书，供惠塔克研究。
Mr. Whitacre declined to comment Thursday because he was receiving a 'crash course' on the company, according to his secretary.
据惠塔克的秘书说，由于他正在接受有关公司情况的“速成培训”，因此周四无法发表评论。
Mr. Whitacre and the directors of the new GM will be overseeing a dramatically slimmed-down company. The auto maker is exiting bankruptcy with $48 billion in debt, down from $176 billion when it sought Chapter 11 protection on June 1. It is going forward with just four brands -- Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC -- and will sell or close Hummer, Saturn, Saab and Pontiac. By the end of the year GM expects to have 68,500 employees, down from 91,000 at the end of 2008.
惠塔克和通用汽车的其他董事将会管理大规模“瘦身”之后的公司。这家汽车厂商将携480亿美元债务脱离破产保护，而其6月1日申请破产保护时债务为 1,760亿美元。通用汽车未来仅保留雪佛兰(Chevrolet)、卡迪拉克(Cadillac)、别克(Buick)和GMC四个品牌，悍马 (Hummer)、Saturn、萨博(Saab)和庞蒂亚克(Pontiac)等品牌都将出售或中止。预计到今年年底，通用汽车员工人数为68,500 人，较2008年底的91,000人大幅下降。
The transformation was the result of a bankruptcy stay whose brevity caught nearly all observers by surprise. The Obama administration had said GM's trip through court could take as long as 90 days.
这次通用破产保护期限之短，几乎令所有观察人士大跌眼镜。奥巴马政府曾表示，通用汽车脱离破产保护最长可能需要90天。
Many of GM's toughest restructuring measures, including the ousting of former Chief Executive Rick Wagoner and the bankruptcy filing itself, came at the behest of the auto task force. The task force head, former Wall Street financier Steven Rattner, appointed Mr. Whitacre with an eye on pressuring management to follow through with the remaking of the company.
通用许多极其强硬的重组措施都是出于汽车业工作小组的命令，包括迫使前任首席执行长瓦格纳(Rick Wagoner)辞职以及申请破产保护本身。工作小组负责人、曾为华尔街金融家的拉特纳(Steven Rattner)任命惠塔克为董事长，用意之一就在于强迫管理层坚持彻底改造公司。
That would be a significant change from how the company was run in the past.
通用汽车的经营方式将较以往发生极大的变化。
In an early sign the new board plans to take a more activist approach, top executives have been told to expect directors to interact regularly with top managers, much the same the way private-equity firms take hands-on roles when they restructure ailing companies, a person familiar with the matter said.
知情人士称，新的董事会计划采用更积极的方式，一个初步迹象就是高层管理人员得知董事会成员将会定期与高管交流，这与私募股权公司对境况不佳的公司进行重组时事必躬亲的做法如出一辙。
The board is expected to weigh in on a management shake up Mr. Henderson has begun preparing. One management move the board is expected to approve is keeping longtime product-development czar Robert Lutz at GM. On Thursday, Mr. Henderson accepted Mr. Lutz's offer to continue working at the company, according to several people familiar with the matter. Mr. Lutz, who is 77 years old and has spent most of this decade remaking GM's model line, had planned to retire this year.
预计董事会将考虑韩德胜已经开始筹备的管理层洗牌。预计董事会将批准的一项管理层变动是保留一直担任产品开发主管的卢茨(Robert Lutz)。据数位知情人士说，韩德胜周四接受了卢茨提出的继续在通用汽车工作的提议。卢茨现年77岁，近十年中大部分时间都在改造通用汽车的产品线，他本来计划今年退休。
Later this month, the U.S. government, which is taking a 60% stake in GM in exchange for the money it has given GM, is expected to name four more directors to serve on the 13-person board. Canada, which has given GM $9 billion in aid and will own 12% of the company, will name one director to the board.
本月晚些时候，预计美国政府将再任命4名董事，加入由13人组成的董事会。作为向通用汽车提供资金的交换条件，美国政府获得通用汽车60%的股权。加拿大政府向通用汽车提供了90亿美元救助资金，将持有该公司12%的股权，它将任命一名董事。
The United Auto Workers health-care trust, which owns 17.5% of GM, has already named its representative to the board -- Stephen Girsky, a former auto industry analyst who in the past has served as an advisor to both GM management and the UAW.
全美汽车工人联合会(UAW)医疗信托持有通用汽车17.5%的股权，它已经任命了自己在董事会的代表──葛斯基(Stephen Girsky)。葛斯基曾是汽车业分析师，过去曾担任通用汽车管理层和全美汽车工人联合会的顾问。
The new directors replace several who were closely associated with Mr. Wagoner, including the lead independent director, former Eastman Kodak Co. CEO George Fisher.
新的董事替换掉了好几个与瓦格纳关系密切的董事，包括主要独立董事、伊士曼-柯达公司(Eastman Kodak Co.)前首席执行长菲舍尔(George Fisher)。
Six current GM directors will remain on the board. They include former Coca Cola & Co. Chairman Neville Isdell; former Northrup Grumman Chief Executive Kent Kresa, and former Ernst & Young Chairman Phil Laskawy.
六名现任通用汽车董事将继续留任，包括可口可乐(Coca Cola & Co.)前董事长伊斯戴尔(Neville Isdell)、Northrup Grumman前首席执行长克雷萨(Kent Kresa)和安永会计师事务所(Ernst & Young)前董事长拉斯卡维(Phil Laskawy)。
Although GM emerges from Chapter 11 with much less debt and lower costs, the board will have to grapple with a number of challenges. It remains heavily dependent on trucks for most of its profits and it's still losing market share to foreign rivals. It will also lose control of its critical Opel unit in Europe when it sells its majority stake.
通用汽车走出破产保护后，负债减少、成本降低，但董事会将不得不努力应对很多挑战。公司利润依然严重依赖卡车，市场占有率仍在被外国竞争对手抢走。通用汽车出售欧洲主要品牌欧宝(Opel)的大多数股权后，还将失去对欧宝的控制权。
Mr. Whitacre is coming into the chairman job with no auto industry experience. But some people who know Mr. Whitacre said he's up to the task.
即将就任董事长的惠塔克没有汽车业经验。不过一些认识惠塔克的人说，他是这个工作的合格人选。
'He's very tough, which is called for in this situation,' Karl Rove, a former adviser to President George W. Bush and a longtime associate of Mr. Whitacre's, said. 'He's not going to let things remain how they are...this was a very astute pick.'
惠塔克的老同事、曾任布什(George W. Bush)总统顾问的罗夫(Karl Rove)说，他非常强硬，在眼下这种形势下正需要这个。他说，他不会听任事情维持现状……这是一个非常明智的选择。
GM, despite its larger scope and international complexities, ended up having a far smoother ride than did Chrysler, whose own Chapter 11 process was plagued by an acrimonious spat with creditors.
尽管通用汽车业务范围更大、国际业务更为复杂，却比克莱斯勒的破产保护过程要顺利的多。克莱斯勒的破产保护过程因为与债权人的激烈争论而受到影响。
With GM beginning a new life as at least a temporary ward of the U.S. government, Obama administration officials have pledged to pull back from day-to-day interactions with the company.
通用汽车将在美国政府至少暂时的保护下开始新生，在这种情况下，奥巴马政府官员承诺将从与公司的日常互动中退出。
GM is still going to be looking for help in Washington, though. The company said earlier this year that it was seeking $7.7 billion in Energy Department loans to push ahead on more energy-efficient cars. To qualify for the money, it must be certified as 'economically viable' by the U.S. government, a step that could happen within weeks.
不过，通用汽车仍需要向华盛顿寻求帮助。该公司今年早些时候说，正在争取从能源部获得77亿美元贷款，以推动更多节能型汽车的生产。为了满足贷款申请资格，通用汽车必须被美国政府认可为“经济上可以存续”的公司，这个过程有望在接下来的几周内进行。
John D. Stoll / Neil King Jr.
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