ＧＭ破綻 “売れる車”が再建のカギだ

The Yomiuri Shimbun(Jun. 2, 2009)
Building new top seller key to GM recovery
ＧＭ破綻　“売れる車”が再建のカギだ（6月2日付・読売社説）

General Motors Corp., the giant automaker that has long been a symbol of the United States, finally collapsed. Though it will be effectively nationalized, the biggest of the Big Three auto companies still faces a rocky road ahead toward rehabilitation.
　米国の象徴だった巨大自動車会社が、ついに経営破綻(はたん)に追い込まれた。国有化されて再建を目指す前途も多難だろう。

GM filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Monday. This marks the largest manufacturing corporate failure in history.
　米ゼネラル・モーターズ（ＧＭ）が、連邦破産法１１章の適用を申請した。製造業として史上最大の倒産だ。

GM's bankruptcy filing followed a similar step taken by Chrysler LLC at the end of April. It is a historic situation that two of the Big Three automakers are in bankruptcy.
　４月末のクライスラーを含め、米３大自動車（ビッグスリー）の２社が、相次いで法的整理される。歴史的な事態である。

GM has reigned over the world auto industry for nearly 80 years. However, the Detroit-based company has been in the red for several years since it got a slow start in the race to develop fuel-efficient small cars and lost competitiveness. The financial crisis and the global recession apparently finished off the ailing company.
　ＧＭは８０年近くも世界の業界トップに君臨した。だが、燃費の良い小型車の開発に出遅れ、競争力を失って、赤字経営が続いていた。金融危機と世界不況にとどめを刺された形だ。

Although even U.S. President Barack Obama could not rescue GM, he did engineer a softer landing for the company with a set of measures to alleviate the bankruptcy shock as much as possible.
　オバマ米大統領も救済できなかった。しかし、破綻ショックを少しでも回避しようと、軟着陸に向けた手を打った。

First, the federal government led the drafting of a restructuring plan and helped convince the United Auto Workers union to agree with GM's proposals to reduce labor costs. The government also helped the company obtain agreements from a majority of creditors in negotiations to greatly reduce its debts.
　まず、政府が再建計画作りを主導し、全米自動車労組（ＵＡＷ）と労務費削減で合意させた。巨額債務の削減交渉でも、大半の債権者の合意を取り付けた。

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Swift resurrection

Obama is said to have set up a scenario in which GM will go through the court process in 60 to 90 days and be rehabilitated quickly with the help of the arrangement his government has made.
　大統領は、こうした事前調整をテコに、６０～９０日間で法的整理を終え、スピード再生させるシナリオを描いている。

The point of the restructuring plan is the establishment of a new GM that would inherit only the company's prime assets, including profitable brands, and jettison underperforming operations from the bankrupt company. The federal government will temporarily place GM under state ownership by acquiring 60 percent of new stocks in a recapitalized company.
　再建計画のポイントは、不採算事業を切り離し、収益が見込めるブランドなど、優良資産だけを引き継ぐ新ＧＭを設立することだ。政府が新ＧＭ株の６割を保有し、一時的に国有化する。

At the same time, the federal government will invest an additional 30 billion dollars (2.8 trillion yen) into GM. The amount of government financial support will reach 5 trillion yen in total. This shows Washington's strong determination to rehabilitate the automaker as quickly as possible.
　政府は同時に、約３００億ドル（２・８兆円）を追加融資して支援する。支援の総額は約５兆円に達する。早期再建に向けた米政権の強い意志の表れといえよう。

But, a leaner GM as a result of drastic restructuring warrants no optimism that the company would be quickly rehabilitated. U.S. taxpayers also are wary of injecting a huge amount of public money into the automaker.
　しかし、大規模なリストラでＧＭをスリム化しても、速やかに再建できるかどうかは楽観できない。巨額の公的資金投入に対して、米国民の視線も厳しい。

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Future cloudy

The biggest challenge is whether GM can regain competitiveness by developing popular sellers such as ecologically friendly cars. Automakers around the world are in fierce competition. Sales of automobiles in the United States are declining. The new GM will have to tread a thorny path.
　最大の問題は、エコカーなどの「売れる車」を開発し、競争力を回復することができるかどうかだ。世界各社との競争は激しい。北米での販売台数も急減している。新ＧＭにはいばらの道だ。

There is concern the GM bankruptcy may cause a chain reaction of collapses among connected companies such as auto parts manufacturers since the auto industry has a wide variety of affiliated industries. Japanese auto parts manufacturers, too, will be unable to avoid adverse impacts.
　自動車産業はすそ野が広く、部品メーカーなど取引先企業の連鎖破綻も懸念される。日系部品メーカーへの影響も避けられまい。

To avoid economic confusion, the U.S. government needs to strengthen official support for companies connected to GM. The Japanese government could be asked to assist Japanese parts makers.
　混乱の回避へ、米国政府は、関連企業への公的支援を強化することが必要だ。日本政府も、日系部品メーカーへの救済策を求められる局面もあるのではないか。

If corporate failures and joblessness increase in the United States, it will be another blow to the U.S. economy, which is just getting out of the worst period of the economic crisis. It will be an ordeal for the world economy, too.
　米国で企業倒産や失業が増大すれば、ようやく最悪期を脱しつつあるとされる米国経済に、再び打撃を与える。世界経済にとっても試練となろう。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, June 2, 2009)
（2009年6月2日01時32分 読売新聞）