Delphi Automotive Systems to Make $600 Million Voluntary Contribution
11 June 1999
Delphi Automotive Systems to Make $600 Million Voluntary Contribution To Hourly Pension FundContribution Ahead of Schedule: Strong Cash Flow Credited TROY, Mich., June 10 -- Delphi Automotive Systems today announced plans to use a portion of its strong year-to-date cash flow to make a $600 million voluntary contribution to its hourly pension fund on June 14. "At the time of GM's announcement of its plan to separate Delphi from GM, we stated our plan to fully fund our current hourly pension benefits over the next several years on an economic basis," said Delphi Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President J.T. Battenberg III. "Monday's payment represents a significant first step in fulfilling that intent," he said. "Based on Delphi's continued strong cash flow performance during the last five months, and the overall financial strength of the company, it makes sense to make this contribution now," said Delphi Chief Financial Officer Alan Dawes. "Delphi is under no obligation to make this contribution now," said Dawes. "Current funding of our hourly pension plan exceeds federal regulatory minimum requirements. Additionally, Delphi currently has no hourly retirees and anticipates only a limited number of retirees in the next few years," he said. "Fully funding the pension plan means that over the next several years we will make adequate contributions to the plan to ensure there are sufficient pension assets to meet our obligations to employees as they retire," said Dawes. The payment comes almost two months from the day when General Motors announced its intent to complete the full divestiture of Delphi via a spin-off to GM shareholders. The spin-off took place -- as scheduled -- on May 28, 1999. Delphi Automotive Systems, with headquarters in Troy, Mich., USA, is a world leader in automotive component and systems technology. Delphi's three business sectors -- Dynamics & Propulsion; Safety, Thermal & Electrical Architecture; and Electronics & Mobile Communications -- provide comprehensive product solutions to complex customer needs. Delphi has approximately 196,000 employees and operates 168 wholly owned manufacturing sites, 51 customer centers and sales offices, and 27 technical centers in 36 countries. Regional headquarters are located in Paris, Tokyo and Sao Paulo. Delphi can be found on the Internet at http://www.delphiauto.com.