菲亞特掌門人出手，克萊斯勒起死回生
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????周二，克萊斯勒將像鳳凰一樣從破產的邊緣浴火重生，在新的全球汽車制造業聯合中成為菲亞特的重要合作伙伴。很大程度上，這兩家公司的生機和活力得益于一個人的遠見卓識：那就是塞爾吉奧?馬爾基翁。只有他看到了合并的好處，并力排眾議，成功重組了克萊斯勒。 ????這是一項非凡的成就。短短兩年前，克萊斯勒還命懸一線，存亡取決于美國總統的贊成或反對票。據史蒂芬?拉特納在《大檢修》（Overhaul）中的報道，總統奧巴馬反對其部分經濟顧問的建議，下令向克萊斯勒提供足夠的貸款助其維持運營。 ????在國家經濟極其脆弱的時期，總統的這一舉措保留了克萊斯勒38,500個直接工作崗位，也保留了克萊斯勒供應商和經銷商提供的成千上萬個就業機會?；蛟S這些工作機可以在別處進行重新分配，但是過程必然十分麻煩。馬爾基翁接手后，克萊斯勒對新設備進行了30億美元的投資，額外創造了2，000個就業機會。 ????克萊斯勒已還清所有政府貸款，并于上周根據馬爾基翁的指示，購回了美國和加拿大政府持有該公司的剩余股票。本次交易對克萊斯勒的估值為83.3億美元。這與戴姆勒在1998年為收購克萊斯勒支付的390億美元相去甚遠，但與Cerberus資本管理公司2007 年收購克萊斯勒時的花費大致相當，遠超破產的克萊斯勒本應大幅折價后的價格。 ????7月26日，馬爾基翁將透露他對公司的未來的規劃。他傳遞的信號表明，變革將涉及公司的會計核算、管理和治理等眾多領域。 汽車業：2011 年的贏家和輸家 ????隨著第二季度的結束，克萊斯勒的財務業績和資產負債表將與菲亞特合并。馬爾基翁的目標是，至 2014 年，合并后的公司收入達到1，400 億美元——在2010年約920 億美元的基礎上實現大的飛越。 ????馬爾基翁還宣布，他希望通過對25名高管的任命對兩家公司的管理進行整合。這一舉措不僅會將馬爾基翁的直接下屬削減一半，還會是規模經濟的實現變得更加容易。 ????并且，他有望剔除克萊斯勒董事會中六位由政府指派的成員，從而加快公司的決策過程。 ????目前，克萊斯勒已在合并中取得先手。分析師預計，在周二宣布結果時，這家底特律汽車制造商的經營利潤將是菲亞特的2.5倍。由于吉普（Jeep）汽車的帶動，克萊斯勒 2011 年上半年在美國的銷售額上升了21%，而菲亞特同期在歐洲的銷售額則下降了12.7%。 ????克萊斯勒銷售額的激增并非來自低價銷售。專業汽車網站Edmunds.com的資料顯示，克萊斯勒六月份銷售每輛汽車的獎勵支出為3,768 美元，而這一做法的先驅福特（F，財富 500 強）在其新型小轎車全線火熱上市時每輛車的獎勵支出也僅為 3,647 美元。 ????馬爾基翁在克萊斯勒計劃中未明確的是首次公開募股的時間。上市計劃原本預計在今年下半年進行，現在看來已經無限期延后。馬爾基翁曾在六月份告訴媒體：“我們需要更持久的業績表現，同時或許也需要等待股市進一步向好?！?/p> ????另一個問號主要圍繞阿爾法?羅密歐汽車重返美國的問題，汽車網站Alfistas對這一舉動早有預測，而且它對馬爾基翁的長期計劃至關重要。馬爾基翁最近將其回歸推遲至 2013 年，原因顯而易見，他對該品牌車型處子秀的設計不太滿意。 ????馬爾基翁即將開啟與美國汽車工人的合同談判，這將是一個巨大挑戰?！兜滋芈尚侣劇罚═he Detroit News）周六報道稱，克萊斯勒將不會簽署包括生活費用調整或類似自動增加工資等條款在內的任何合同。依其行事風格來看，預計馬爾基翁將親自參與談判。 ????鑒于馬爾基翁在克萊斯勒取得的成功，他現在完全有資格躋身獨立高管的名人堂，與尼桑（Nissan）的卡洛斯?戈恩和福特（Ford）的艾倫?穆拉里平起平坐，他們都使瀕臨破產的汽車企業起死回生?；蛟S，本地的汽車業人士也能夠從他們身上學到些什么。 |
????On Tuesday, Chrysler will emerge phoenix-like from the fires of bankruptcy as a vital partner of Fiat in a new global auto manufacturing alliance. To a remarkable extent, the vitality and strength of the two companies is the result of the vision and energy of one man: Sergio Marchionne. He alone saw the benefits that would come from a merger and then overcame enormous skepticism to rebuild Chrysler and make it possible. ????It is an effort that is all the more remarkable when you remember that just two years ago, Chrysler's survival hung on a thumbs-up or thumbs-down vote by the president of the United States. As reported by Steven Rattner in Overhaul, President Obama went against the advice of some of his economic advisers and ordered that Chrysler be advanced enough money to stay afloat. ????The President's actions preserved 38,500 direct jobs at Chrysler and hundreds of thousands more at suppliers and dealers at an especially fragile time for the nation's economy. Those jobs may have eventually been redistributed elsewhere, but the process would have been messy. Since Marchionne took over, Chrysler has created 2,000 more jobs by investing $3 billion in new facilities. ????Chrysler has paid back all its government loans, and last week under Marchionne's direction it bought the remaining shares held by the U.S. and Canadian governments. The deal values Chrysler at $8.33 billion. That's a far cry from the $39 billion Daimler paid for Chrysler in 1998 but roughly what Chrysler cost Cerberus in 2007 and a lot better than the pennies on the dollar that a bankrupt Chrysler would have brought. ????Tomorrow, Marchionne will reveal more of his future plans for the company. He's already signaled that changes will be coming in accounting, management, and governance. Autos: 2011's winners and losers ????With the close of the second quarter, Chrysler's financial results and balance sheet will be integrated with Fiat's. Marchionne aims to have the combined companies generate revenue of $140 billion by 2014 -- a big jump from the roughly $92 billion they did in 2010. ????Marchionne has also declared his intention to merge the management of the two companies with his 25 top executives. Besides cutting the number of his direct reports in half, the move should make it easier to realize economies of scale. ????And he is expected to replace the six government appointees on Chrysler's board of directors, which should allow him to move faster in decision-making. ????Right now, Chrysler holds the upper hand in the merger. When results are announced on Tuesday, analysts expect the Detroit automaker's operating profit will be two and a half times Fiat's. Led by Jeep, Chrysler's U.S. sales rose 21% in the first half of 2011, while Fiat's European sales fell 12.7% in the same period. ????Chrysler's sales surge has not required fire sale prices. According to Edmunds.com, Chrysler's incentives spending in June was $3,768 per vehicle sold, while much-heralded Ford (F, Fortune 500), with a lineup of supposedly hot new small cars, was $3,647 per vehicle sold. ????One part of Marchionne's Chrysler plan that isn't on schedule is an initial public offering. Originally expected in the second half of this year, it now appears to have been put off indefinitely. "We need an additional track record of performance and probably a better equity market than I'm seeing today," Marchionne told reporters in June. ????Another question mark revolves around the return of Alfa Romeo to the U.S., a move long anticipated by Alfistas and vital to Marchionne's long-term plans. He recently pushed it back another year to 2013, apparently because he wasn't happy with the design of the debut model. ????Marchionne faces an upcoming challenge with the opening of contract negotiations with the United Auto Workers. The Detroit News reported on Saturday that Chrysler will not sign any contract that includes cost-of-living adjustments or similar automatic pay increases. As is his style, Marchionne is expected to directly involve himself in the talks. ????Given his success at Chrysler, Marchionne now deserves to join the pantheon of outsider executives alongside Nissan's Carlos Ghosn and Ford's Alan Mulally who turned around failing auto companies. Maybe there is something the local car guys can learn from them. |
