Brain-Jockey

Sweden To GM: A Fickle Finger

Written by Audrie Zettick on March 23, 2009

A while back, I wrote about how Bailouts Are Blarney, with the Irish government refusing to bailout failing Waterford Wedgwood PLC, their famous maker of crystal. 

 

Now, Sweden has put the kibash on bailing out failing Saab.  Who’d a “thunk” it?  This from a country that nationalized its banks.   Seems a bit fickle.

 

With GM’s withdrawal from Saab, the company filed for protection from creditors.  GM’s bankruptcy, of course, would have forced renegotiation of the union contracts that have hogtied any chance of the renewal of the automaker.

 

Mind you, GM is the one blamed for destroying the Saab brand; known for its uniqueness and quirkiness, sales plummeted drastically after GM purchased the brand. Once a small but highly-sought brand based on its performance, the brand image became muddied once GM started inserting parts from Opel and making changes to try to compete against BMW. 

 

The Swedish government saying “no” to a Saab bailout is probably akin to giving the U.S. automaker the finger.