Delphi Corp., Troy, Mich., today reiterated its intention to freeze its U.S. Hourly and Salaried Pension Plans when it emerges from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and will need no funding waivers. In its first-quarter earnings statement, Delphi officials also reaffirmed the company’s expectation that it will “be able to meet its pension funding strategy through a combination of cash contributions and transfers of certain unfunded pension liabilities to a plan sponsored by (General Motors Corp.), without the benefit of the previously issued pension funding waivers. Accordingly, Delphi has not applied to the IRS or PBGC to extend such waivers.”
As part of its plan to emerge from bankruptcy, Delphi previously announced that Detroit-based GM will assume about $7 billion of post-retirement benefits for some of Delphi’s active and retired hourly employees and will assume about $1.5 billion of the unfunded liability of Delphi’s Hourly-Rate Employees Pension Plan. Delphi’s defined benefit plan assets totaled an estimated $15 billion as of Sept. 30.
