William Holstein, author of Why GM Matters: Inside the Race to Transform an American Icon, discusses the economic landscape facing the auto giants and whether GM can be sufficiently restructured to once again become a viable, competitive company.
Bio
William J. Holstein
William J. Holstein is an author, writer and magazine editor. Before Why GM Matters: Inside the Race to Transform an American Icon, (Walker and Co.), he wrote two other books, Manage the Media and The Japanese Power Game. He has written for United Press International, Business Week, The New York Times and Fortune magazine and served as an editor for a decade for Business Week, managing the magazine's Asian coverage.
He covered the American economy and the auto industry for U.S. News.
U.S. corporation, the world's largest automotive manufacturer for most of the 20th century and into the 21st. It was founded in 1908 by William C. Durant to consolidate several motorcar companies, and it soon included the makers of Buick, Oldsmobile (discontinued in 2004), Cadillac, and Oakland (later Pontiac) autos. GM acquired the Chevrolet auto company in 1918 and formed General Motors Acceptance Corporation (GMAC) in 1919. By 1929 GM had passed Ford Motor Co. to become the leading U.S. auto manufacturer and had added such overseas operations as Vauxhall of England. GM bought Electronic Data Systems Corp. (EDS) in 1984, and in 1986 it bought Hughes Aircraft Co. (renamed Hughes Electronic Corp.). GM founded a new automotive division, Saturn, in 1984 to compete with Japanese automobiles. In renewing its focus on the automotive business, GM spun off EDS in 1996, sold portions of Hughes in 1997, and became the sole owner of Saab Automobile AB in 2000.
So what if there is no more GM? there is a reason why the company went down, and i really doubt that people with all those skills will have trouble finding jobs.