Chrysler Bankruptcy: Lee Iacocca Losing Pension, Car

Yahoo! News:

NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Lee Iacocca, the car executive credited with saving Chrysler from bankruptcy in the 1980s, is to lose a big chunk of his pension and a guaranteed life-long company car due to the U.S. automaker's bankruptcy filing two decades later.

Chrysler CEO Robert Nardelli told a U.S. bankruptcy court on Thursday that Iacocca's pension would be among the obligations Chrysler will no longer have to pay if it gets bankruptcy court approval to sell itself to a "New Chrysler" to be owned by its union, the U.S. and Canadian governments and Fiat SpA (FIA.MI).

Read the whole story: Yahoo! News

Comments

[TJCole]

He'll just have to drive a Mercedes I guess...

[DrRoberts99]

They could have at least let him keep his vehicle of Mostly Old Parts And Rust.

[oakley9]

He's already made millions, so not much sympathy here. i'm sure he can afford to buy his own car, a fleet of them.

[Bloggerrogr]

He's too old to be driving anyway. Take the bus, Lee like the rest of us who have to work for a living

[take10]

He qualifies for a scooter, so what's the big deal?

[Skyhawk]

Buh Bye.

[BikeFreak]

Good.

I have found a little sense of justice with this whole mess.

[Mulvaney]

With plants closing, its hard to feel much sympathy given the resources at his disposal.

[nomadicexpat]

how do u know his resources? it could be an ed mcmahon situation? he could of had most of his money in chrysler stock

no one should lose their pension

[munki]

No sympathy... He is one of few started the trend of EXTREME high Executive Compensation!

He siphoned enough from Chrysler... should have put some in R&D to compete with others...

[AZterritory]

If he truly pulled Chrysler out of its slump they would have headed in a different direction . . . . it's not like we didn't have gas lines and recession problems in the 70s and early 80s. I don't think the K Car exactly was what America (or Chrysler) was waiting for. VW, Toyota, Nissan responded to changing needs back in the day and are around today to weather this downturn.

[ekoorb]

The minivan was his creation; it had a good, long run. Chrysler was a takeover target because of all the cash it piled up during and immediately after his tenure.

[ranchero42]

Don't let them put poor Lioce out on the street! Let us take up a collection for the poor guy before he writes another book.

[schatsie]

I think Lee did much more for the working class employees, than Jack Welch did for anyone at GE....

[themodernleader]

If we are to pull our economy out of this terrible bankruptcy and depression, sacrifice must be spread equitability across the board to prevent even worst consequences.
Instead, the main culprits are bing rewarded, and the rest of us are left jobless in rags.
In the past month the local gas utility illegally charged two 900-dollar-tenant-unpaid gas bills to my obligation. A municipality charged me a large fee to attend an all-day class to explain draconian new rules on landlords. An applicant for an apartment was blackballed by the same organization. The apartment is still vacant. The property taxes have increased over 35% in four years. The sales taxes are at a record high. The Governor asks for substantially higher income taxes or be faced with cut back of services. This morning I drive down the street of a neighboring town and I am illegally stopped by police to inspect my seat belts.
What remains of the middle class members are being targeted to bail out the crimes of incompetent , corrupt governance and financial fraud. The sacrifice is being required of the competent and responsible citizens. Criminality is either ignored or rewarded. Such reckless policy invites dangerous consequences.

[Give Peace A Chance]

Stuff happens!

[schoolmaster]

Wish there were exceptions. Lee is the one who rescued Chrysler before. Too bad for him to loose his pension in a sweep. Justice can not be that blind.

[LostRiverLedger]

I question his brilliance.....but am in awe of his luck. This is the man who in the 80's said that there was only a market for about 100,000 SUVs in the US market.......

[schatsie]

That's what the market was UNTIL the government started alloweing $100,000 deductions/credits for buying these dinosaurs.... and the small business writeoffs..etc...

[RButler]

As an aside. The US is going from selling or is it buying 16 million cars and trucks a year to a more realistic 9-10 million for the foreseeable future. What on earth were we doing buying those extra 6 million cars every year? What a waste of physical resources plus the waste of money due to the instant depreciation of new cars driven off the lot.

And it's not just the auto industry. Used computers and other electronics are piling up as stuff to be handled somehow, not to mention VCRs. While our entrepreneurial society creates lots of jobs and new products, it sure is wasteful. In our new green economy, how do we make progress without being so wasteful? In the 50s and 60s, it was called 'planned obsolescence' with regard to the auto industry. Now, it's just 'obsolescence' but obsolescence just the same. I wonder how low income car buyers will be able to afford the maintenance on a used 6-8 year old hybrid that needs new batteries, and repair or replacement of many of the high tech systems in new cars such as air bags, anti-lock brakes, on board computers etc.

[Name Not In Use]

I sure miss my VCR. Those BluRay disks are such a pain.