You would think General Motors declaring bankruptcy meant some people had just won the lottery. The Twitterverse was abuzz with people ripping the company for ending up in Chapter 11. Then there was the link to the above video which prompted more rebukes.
The last straw for me was seeing Jeff Jarvis — a journalist I highly respect — dropping f-bombs on GM’s efforts to remake itself.
The stuff GM is being forced to do through bankruptcy is stuff it should have been doing for years. But just like the newspaper industry, it never saw the need. What had worked for decades would continue to work today. That’s the problem: Today. There was little to no consideration for tomorrow.
Toyota is oft-praised for it’s 10-year, 20-year and 50-year plans. But even those plans couldn’t stave off the dramatic sales drops it’s encountering. So it should be of little surprise that GM ended up in bankruptcy. But why did Monday’s filing provide so much joy for so many trolls?
GM is finally taking the steps it needs to become the company it should. It’s putting itself out into the social media sphere to be as transparent as a public company can be in the face of actions that must be approved by a federal judge.
Maybe I’m a sucker, and I buy what GM is selling in its latest TV spot. But also remember that after 9/11, GM and other Detroit car makers went a long way to getting the economy going with zero percent interest. It doesn’t give them carte blanche to conduct business irresponsibly. But how many of us would like a chance at a do-over? Considering all the people who count on GM for jobs, don’t they deserve one?
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Well said, Sean. Chapter 11 reorganization was designed specifically for companies like GM — with good core products, but victims of a good ole boy system that didn’t keep up with the times. There are thousands of lesser (and even corrupt) companies that got a chance (or two or three) to find relief in the chapters of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code — why not give one of the nation’s rocks a chance too? I agree with you. But it will probably cost you a lunch.
I think I can swing a lunch. Let me check with my court-appointed trustee.