Visteon files for Chapter 11

[rickaren]

Visteon files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

Posted Thursday, May 28, 2009, 11:52 am in Employee News

Auto parts supplier Visteon Corp. said Thursday it (along with some of its U.S. units) has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, as the company struggles with reduced demand from automakers amid plans for extended plant shutdowns this summer, the Associated Press reported.

The company filed its petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, the AP said. The company’s Visteon UK Ltd. unit separately filed for bankruptcy protection last month and closed three British plants, the news service reported.

The Van Buren Township, Mich.-based auto parts supplier earlier this month posted a sharp drop in first-quarter revenue as automakers cut back on their output in the face of dwindling car sales, the AP said. According to Visteon’s latest quarterly filing with regulators, the company had total liabilities of $3.96 billion and total assets of $4.56 billion at March 31. Cash and short-term investments totaled $625 million, the story said. (Associated Press/Detroit News)

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Ford pledges millions to support Visteon

Posted Friday, May 29, 2009, 2:25 pm in Employee News

Ford Motor Co. has pledged millions of dollars to support bankrupt supplier Visteon Corp., and is calling on its other customers to do the same, The Detroit News reported.

Visteon’s decision to seek bankruptcy protection Thursday surprised no one in the industry, least of all Ford, the paper said. The automaker has spent months preparing for the eventual failure of its former parts subsidiary and positioning itself to have a say in Visteon’s restructuring, according to people familiar with the situation, the News reported.

But that does not mean the collapse of one of Ford’s largest suppliers is without risk for the Dearborn automaker, the paper said. Though Ford has worked to distance itself from Visteon since bailing out the Van Buren Township, Mich.-based parts manufacturer in 2005, it remains Visteon’s largest customer, 31 percent of its business, the story said. (The Detroit News)