The market is in a 'show-me' way of thinking right now. The savings sound great, but it's hard to gauge how realistic the $4 billion number is, for this year.
When Wagoner took over for GM North America, he essentially implied that it was all on his shoulders now. By taking on that role, he took full responsibility for North America, where the key issues are. And things have only gotten worse.
They are finally starting to realize higher aluminum pricing. The market should see this as favorable.
The near-term savings are not going to be as much as it needs to be. What it does is keep them from producing cars they don't need and they won't have to discount the cars as much.
To avoid bankruptcy, GM needs to see Delphi get restructured and operating in a manner that would not disrupt their supplies and operations. How they address that is a key hurdle.
There are many folks out there who hold the shares because of the high dividend. Dropping part of that dividend would mean dropping many shareholders, and I don't think it's worth the savings, which isn't really that much.
