Flippin unbelievable!
STILLWATER MINING COMPANY
FRANCIS R. MCALLlSTER I CHAIRMAN AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
536 East Pike Avenue, Columbus, Montana 59019
fmcallister@stillwatermining.com
July 9,2009
To all Stillwater Employees,
The Company issued the attached press release late Wednesday afternoon. It reports that
General Motors Corporation has petitioned the bankruptcy court to terminate outright the
Stillwater Palladium and Rhodium Supply Agreement, one of our two major PGM supply
agreements. General Motors advised us last week to expect this.
We were also told that the floor prices in the GM agreement were not the issue but,
because GM's production will be downsized following its reorganization, they simply
will not need as much palladium in the future. (They will be making fewer cars.)
Further, and more troubling, we learned that while terminating our agreement, GM
intends to continue its agreements to buy palladium from producers in Russia and South
Africa,
There is more discussion about this second issue in Wednesday's press release. As I
pointed out in the press release, American taxpayers are spending billions of dollars to bail out
GM, and GM is then putting American jobs at risk by using those dollars to purchase palladium
from our competitors abroad - while walking away from our agreement here at home. That may
be convenient for GM, but it is a slap in the face to our employees and to the American people.
The press release also states -
"...We have sought the support of our elected representatives in carrying our case
forward and weighing in on the Company's behalf in this matter. However, it appears
that right now there is reluctance in Washington to intercede. Hopefully our
Congressional delegation will step forward in the interest of preserving jobs in Montana."
We have now been in touch with all of our public officials and have received words of
encouragement. So far, however, their help has mostly been limited to a few phone calls, and we
will need more action than this to turn GM around.
To that end, I need your help in appealing to our congressional delegation. Please let
them know of your concern with GM's misguided course of action, an action that flies in the face
of protecting Montana jobs and strengthening our American economy at this critical time. You
can do this by sending an email to:
Senator Max Baucus at max~,baucus.senate.gov
Senator John Tester at senator@,tester.senate. gov
Congressman Denny Rehberg at dustin.frost@mail.house.~ov
Better yet, ask your family, friends and neighbors to do so as well. Further contact information is
included as an attachment to this letter.
It is encouraging that on the local level, Governor Schweitzer has assured me that he will
be writing to General Motors and others on our behalf. Please let him know we appreciate his
support by copying him on your emails at governor@,mt.us.
In closing, I express my personal thanks to each of you for your commitment and
dedication in helping us achieve the results we have to date. While we have performed
admirably compared to our budget, this latest development serves to emphasize that we still have
more to do in moving toward our goal of being a low-cost operator. Continuing progress will be
critical if we are to be positioned competitively for the future.
Sincerely,
Frank McAllister
Attachments :
Contact Information
Press Release dated 7/8/09 |
