GM and Chrysler dealers who believe that they were unfairly shut down in the massive herd thinning that took place in 2009 will have a shot at compensation starting this week. After heavy lobbying of Congress, the dealers have the option to file for arbitration which, at minimum, would force the automakers to give their reasons for shutting some dealers, and for some would provide some compensation for their loss. GM has said that it will reopen many of the closed dealerships, and soon.
The New York Times ran an interesting blog story about this situation, and in it spoke with several former operators of dealerships as to what they have been going through since being closed and what their hopes are for the upcoming arbitration process. They all wish for a pretty simple thing, their ability to earn a living back.
We have no doubt that there were (and probably still are) underperforming dealerships that are a drain on the resources of already weak companies. With respect to Chrysler’s closings, anyway, dealer performance seemed to be low on the weight scale as to what a particular place’s fate would be. All of the Chrysler dealers spoken to for the Times story were strong performers, and in some cases, regional leaders. As with all things corporate, politics seem to have been involved. We wish the dealers who were getting the job done and providing valuable jobs for mechanics, and other people in their community luck in the process.
GM’s Chairman Ed Whitacre has said that the company whacked too many dealers and that a bunch could be reopened shortly. Apparently, we’re talking about a couple hundred GM dealers that could get a new lease on life. We’re going to follow this story and keep you posted on developments. When some of the backroom deals that were sure to have taken place start coming out, it’ll be awesome reading.
Source — The New York Times — Defending Their Dealerships
