Slaughter questions Delphi, GM on fuel cell center
U.S. Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-Fairport, has urged General Motors Corp. and Delphi Corp., both in the throes of bankruptcy, to clarify the status of Delphi’s fuel cell technology center in Henrietta prior to a court date the parts supplier has on July 23.
As part of its restructuring, GM has announced plans to acquire Delphi manufacturing plants on Lexington Avenue in Rochester and in Lockport. But the fate of the Delphi technology center in Henrietta wasn’t resolved in earlier talks between Delphi and GM.
Delphi employs more than 1,200 people at the two local plants.
In a letter addressed to GM CEO Fritz Henderson and Delphi CEO Rodney O’Neal, the chairwoman of the House Rules Committee reminded them that she had obtained $6.5 million for Delphi for fuel cell development.
“It is paramount to retain the value of this investment and the goal to develop and manufacture this technology in Rochester regardless of Delphi and GM’s final restructuring outcome,” she wrote.
Delphi’s reorganization plans are expected to be resolved at the July 23 hearing in New York City. GM’s restructuring is in the formative stages.
The Henrietta facility, Slaughter said, is Delphi’s largest fuel cell development center and is within three years of bringing a solid oxide fuel cell to production.
Slaughter said Delphi’s contract with United Auto Workers Local 1097 stipulated that fuel cell technology developed in Henrietta would be manufactured in Rochester.
“Particularly since the SOFC is a proven technology only months away from full-scale production, it is imperative to ensure its continued development,” Slaughter wrote to the CEOs.
TTOBIN@DemocratandChronicle.com
‘No’ to $30M
A bankruptcy judge refused to approve $30 million in fees and expenses for Platinum Equity LLC should it be outbid for the right to acquire the Delphi plants that aren’t going to General Motors. Judge Robert Drain, in New York City, said the amount dramatically exceeds what is appropriate.
