Obama auto team in Detroit today

cathayee

New York -- The Obama administration's auto task force sent a team of 15 people to Detroit today to hold talks with General Motors Corp. as it races to complete a revamped restructuring by the end of May, planning talks all this week and next.

An Obama administration official said the meeting was "to continue the process of business diligence with GM's new team."

The team is being led by Harry J. Wilson from the Treasury Department, and includes experts from Boston Consulting Group and investment bank Rothschild Inc., the official said.

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"They will be in Detroit through the end of the week and will be returning next week as well," the official said. "The goal is to accelerate the process that the President laid out last Monday."

The auto task force has separate teams working on a number of auto-related issues.

On March 30, the Obama administration rejected GM's viability plan, giving GM 60 days to come up with a new plan. The administration ousted GM Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner. The company's new CEO Fritz Henderson said the new viability plan will be tougher than the prior plan, which the Obama administration called unrealistic.

The administration has pledged GM unspecified short-term aid over the next 60 days but hasn't awarded GM anything beyond the $13.4 billion it has received. In February, GM sought another $16.6 billion -- a request rejected by the administration.

The Detroit News first reported on March 21 that Wilson had taken a key role in the administration's auto team and had sent an email seeking applicants.

"The work is incredibly intense. The amount of work is massive, the timelines are tight and the level of focus is also very high," Wilson wrote in a March 13 e-mail. Wilson was a partner at Silver Point Capital, a hedge fund, and also worked at both the Blackstone Group and Goldman Sachs.

yuting0921

poor thing, our firm....