Steven Rattner, a financier known in New York society and a counselor to many corporate chieftains, will join the Treasury Department as a lead adviser on the auto industry bailout.
Rattner, 56, will advise Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Lawrence Summers, the director of the National Economic Council, on reorganization efforts by General Motors and Chrysler, two carmakers that are receiving U.S. government bailout money.
He was widely considered the front-runner to become the car czar, the Obama administration's point person in mediating negotiations involving GM and Chrysler and parts suppliers, bondholders and unions. The car czar would have had a direct oversight role for the industry
The stakes for a bailout of the auto industry have never been higher. As part of the $17.4 billion in U.S. government aid GM and Chrysler received in December, they have submitted updates of their reorganization plans, which outlined steep cuts throughout their operations. They have also asked for an additional $14 billion in aid.
Many analysts and industry insiders have said, however, that the only solution to the carmakers' problems is some sort of bankruptcy filing. Should that happen, the U.S. government would almost certainly be responsible for billions of dollars in loans to help keep the factory lights on and the critical vendors like parts suppliers paid. GM and Chrysler have estimated that they would need a combined $125 billion in bankruptcy financing, an amount they are unlikely to get from the government.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/02/24/business/24rattner.php
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