General Motors Corp. Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner sharply criticized government officials Thursday for failing to show leadership on crucial issues such as health care and energy.
"Some of the things that we all believe are necessary to ensure the continued strength of the (manufacturing) sector, which I think is just vital ... we just don't see the leadership," said Wagoner, speaking at the auto industry's Management Briefing Seminars in Traverse City.
Wagoner's comments followed similar sentiments expressed a day earlier in Traverse City by Mark Fields, Ford Motor Co.'s president of the Americas.
Wagoner and the CEOs of Ford and DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group have been asking for a sit-down with President Bush for months, but the meeting has been postponed at least twice.
Last month, Wagoner appeared on Capitol Hill asking Congress for a number of reforms to help businesses cope with runaway health care costs.
"They've just taken a complete pass on doing something about the health care situation," Wagoner said Thursday. "It's driving jobs out of the country."
On another topic, Wagoner also said GM has reduced its forecast for total U.S. auto sales to 17 million in 2006, down from 17.5 million in 2005. That number includes heavy trucks.
"If somebody would have told all of us that oil prices would be as high as they are today and auto sales in the U.S. would be staying and running at the rate they have, I think we'd probably have said, 'Wow that's a pretty a robust market,' " he said. "We're not overly negative, but certainly we have to be concerned."
He also said the company continues to make progress on talks with Delphi Corp., GM's former parts division. Delphi, with the financial assistance of GM, is trying to work out an agreement with United Auto Workers to lower wages and benefit levels that would avoid a potentially crippling strike.
Delphi and UAW are due in bankruptcy court today to resume hearings on Delphi's request to void union labor contracts.
Wagoner also said Thursday that GM is scaling back its production of newly redesigned large SUVs to make sure dealer inventories don't get too high. GM had planned to run plants on overtime for the rest of the year, which won't be necessary, he said.
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