After his speech at the Fairfax Assembly Plant is over later today, Whitacre will fly to DC to give congressional leaders first hand knowledge of how the carmaker is doing, financially speaking. As executives usually do, Whitacre weill not use a commercial flight, but a chartered one.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Whitacre is determine not to make the same mistake his predecessors made in late 2008, when they flew to DC in their private jets to ask for a helping hand and a few millions. As a result, Whitacre will pay for the flight from his own pocket.
As said, Whitacre announced yesterday through a post on the Wall Street Journal website that GM has repaid the remaining $5.8 billion to the U.S. Treasury and Export Development Canada.
"Our ability to pay back these loans less than a year after emerging from bankruptcy is a sign that our plan for building a new GM is working," the CEO said.
Today's trip to DC will be the first Whitacre is making since he took over as CEO. Even if the entire debt has been paid ($6.7 billion direct repayment and a 60 percent equity stake) to the government, the carmaker still has to report how it is using taxpayer's money.
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