Visteon Reaches Deal with Ford on Pensions, Retiree Benefits Costs
Ford Motor Co. has agreed to waive $160 million in claims against former parts unit Visteon Corp., and committed to contracts worth $600 million with the supplier just days before Visteon exits bankruptcy, reported Automotive News.
In court documents filed over the weekend in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, Visteon said Ford agreed to waive $160 million in claims against the supplier, including Visteon's obligations to pay certain pension and retiree benefits costs.
Reuters said the settlement would end Visteon's obligations to reimburse Ford for some $105 million in pension and retiree benefit costs.
Ford in turn will pay Visteon $29 million for restructuring costs and committed to spend $600 million on new parts from Visteon through 2013.
“The global settlement represents the final piece of the puzzle in Visteon's Chapter 11 reorganization and the restructuring of its commercial relationship with Ford,” the company said in court documents.
The court is scheduled to review and approve the proposed settlement with Ford at a hearing Thursday.
Visteon was spun off from Ford in 2000 and struggled through most of the decade, before filing for bankruptcy protection in May 2009.
The company owed lenders $1.6 billion and bondholders another $870 million during bankruptcy. It used bankruptcy to shed approximately $2 billion in debt, including deep cuts to retirees.
The cuts were a major source of contention throughout Visteon's bankruptcy case until it agreed to pay $12 million to more than 6,000 retired workers in return for insurance and benefits reductions.
The court approved Visteon's reorganization plan in August and the company plans to emerge from bankruptcy on Oct. 1.
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