Mar. 6, 2010 (United Press International) -- DETROIT, March 6 (UPI) -- General Motors Co. said it's eager to restore relationships with more than 600 dealerships it has offered to reinstate after dropping them. The dealerships were among 1,100 that filed for arbitration after GM notified them they would lose their franchise licenses. "We are eager to restore relationships with our dealers and get back to doing what we do best -- selling cars and taking care of customers," Mark Reuss, president of GM North America, said in a statement Friday. "The arbitration process creates uncertainty in the market." Reuss cited a "very, very tough time" as the company has emerged from bankruptcy, adding, "It is emotional and it is part of the rebirth as we start the company from a clean slate." The company had told 2,000 dealerships last year they would lose their franchises as part of restructuring. GM is about 80 percent owned by the federal government. Dealers pushed back and Congress approved a measure that lets the dealers pursue binding arbitration. GM said it will have up to 5,500 U.S. dealerships after the reinstatement and the arbitration process. Dealers must meet financial requirements to be reinstated. Ed Tonkin, chairman of the National Automobile Dealers Association, which represents about 17,000 new vehicle dealers, called the GM offer a "significant move forward in advancing the state of dealer relations." "We appreciate the good-faith effort that GM is showing and hope that this carries forward in its continuing settlement and arbitration discussions with the remaining wind-down dealers," Tonkin said in a statement. WASHINGTON, March 6 (UPI) -- Regulators say they shut down banks in Florida, Maryland, Illinois and Utah, raising to 26 the number of U.S. bank failures this year. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said Friday Sun American Bank (OTCBB:AMBK) (OTCBB:AMBKP) , based in Boca Raton, Fla., Bank of Illinois of Normal, Ill., Waterfield Bank in Germantown, Md., and Centennial Bank in Ogden, Utah, had a total of $1.1 billion in assets and $1 billion in deposits. The $304.8 million cost of the closings will come out of a fund the FDIC maintains. The largest of the four banks, Sun American, had $535.7 million in assets and $443.5 million in deposits and 12 branches. It is to reopen Monday under the name First-Citizens Bank (AMEX:FZB.PR) (OTCBB:FCNCB) (NASDAQ:FCNCA) & Trust Co., which is to assume its deposits and assets as part of a loss-sharing agreement with the FDIC. Waterfield Bank, with only a single branch, had gotten $156.4 million in deposits from customers through the Internet and affinity groups. Waterfield, which closed with $155.6 million in assets, counted among its management two alumni of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE:GS) , Randall and Richard Waterfield. The Bank of Illinois, with $211.7 million in assets, will reopen under an agreement between the FDIC and Heartland Bank & Trust Co. in Bloomington. With two branches, the bank had $211.7 million in assets and $198.5 million in deposits. The Utah Department of Financial Institutions appointed the FDIC as a receiver for Centennial Bank, which had $215.2 million in assets and $205.1 million in deposits. SAN FRANCISCO, March 6 (UPI) -- San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom says a plan to rehire 15,000 laid off city workers for shorter work weeks will save thousands of jobs. Newsom ordered the pink slips delivered Friday to the stunned city workers, a majority of the city's 26,000 employees, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. But the mayor said the majority of them will be hired back within two weeks for 37.5-hour weeks instead of 40-hour weeks, which would result in a 6.25 percent pay cut. The newspaper said the plan is designed to save $50 million from the city's general operating fund, which has a $522 million deficit in the current fiscal year. Another $50 million would be saved in departments, like the airport and port, that don't get general fund money. The report said city employee unions are working to come up with a counter-proposal. CUPERTINO, Calif., March 6 (UPI) -- The much-anticipated iPad tablet will go on sale April 3, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) announced. The more expensive 3G wireless version won't be available until late April, the company said Friday. Apple said all models of the iPad tablet will be available in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom in late April. PC Magazine said its analyst Tim Gideon "was impressed with the iPad's overall feel and speed, and he was optimistic about potential iPad apps. But, despite dynamite hardware and killer software, you have to wonder if there's room for a third device that falls somewhere between a laptop and a smart-phone." The target market for the device remains unclear, the magazine said.
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