Delphi CEO to retire after 44-year career
Battenberg cut work force by 163,700
By Jason Roberson
Dayton Daily News
Delphi Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive J.T. Battenberg III said Wednesday he will retire later this year, ending a 44-year career at General Motors Corp. and Delphi.
Delphi, the world's largest automotive supplier, has changed since Battenberg, 61, led the company's spin-off from GM in 1999.
At the time, Delphi had 195,000 U.S. employees and just under $7 billion in revenue.
Today, Delphi operates with 31,300 employees and grossed $13.2 billion last year.
The headcount reduction during Battenberg's tenure is perhaps most evident in Dayton, where the work force has dwindled since 1999 from 15,000 employees at nine plants to 8,700 employees at six.
Delphi has said it might close or sell all six local plants unless they become more profitable.
At its peak, shares of Delphi Corp. (NYSE:DPH) traded at just over $20. Shares closed Wednesday at $6.90, down 2 cents. The 52-week range is $7.03 to $11.01.
Delphi has struggled with earnings in recent quarters and will likely be in the red for a while, according to analysts.
The Troy, Mich.-based company posted a loss of 12 cents a share in the third quarter (2004) and expects to operate in the red through the better part of 2005 "despite recent restructuring activities that have included plant closures and thousands of headcount reductions," said Value Line Publishing Inc. analyst Justin Hellman.
But Battenberg, whose estimated 2004 pay was $3.78 million according to Yahoo! Finance, has succeeded in growing Delphi's non-GM business and diversifying its client base.
Sales to non-GM clients accounted for 47 percent of its top line products in the third quarter 2004, up from 40 percent a year earlier, according to Value Line.
One possible successor is Dayton native Rodney O'Neal, who earlier this year was named president and chief operating officer. Delphi's board said Wednesday it will begin searching for a replacement immediately.
"The past four decades have been an incredible journey," Battenberg said Wednesday.
"It's a difficult decision to leave a company and an industry that I have come to love ... but this timing is in line with what my career plans have been for some time," he said.
Contact Jason Roberson at 225-2446.
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