Jerry York Drops a Haymaker on GM

Jerry York, an associate of corporate "raider" and big-time wave-making shareholder Kirk Kerkorian, came into the heart of the GM empire and delivered what could be considered none other than...well...a bitch-slap.

York came to a luncheon speech to the Society of Automotive Analysts at the Renaissance Center, the home of General Motors, and delivered a powerful slap to the face of the GM corporate establishment. To be fair, York gave the company some credit for taking "important first steps" toward cutting costs, focusing brand lines and being more realistic about its market share and revenue expectations. However, he challenged GM to practice equality by sacrifice by cutting dividends, as well as the salaries of board members, execs and other white-collar employess to as he said "move down from the top of the pyramid".

York has some expertise in this area, particularly the turnarounds at Chrysler in the early 80's and then again in the 90's. And to be honest, his comments ring true. How can a company like GM not be acting like they should be in crisis mode right now? They need to cut costs at all levels, but by starting at the top and working down it makes the cuts at the lower levels (re: UAW) seem more palatable. You can't have another Delphi where the senior execs have huge golden parachutes while the blue-collar folks get screwed. GM needs to wake up and smell the dung piling up around them.

York continued by pointing out that GM currently has a burn rate of around $24 million per day. That means, given revenue projections, they only have 1,000 days of cash on hand. This company, if it wants to survive, needs to start thinking and acting in a crisis mode.

Bitch slap delivered. Now will it be heard? One thing said by York no one can deny, "we are running out of time".

York challenges GM on its own turf [FREEP]

Jerry York to GM: Get in 'crisis mode' [CNN/Money]

Shared Sacrifice [Newsweek]