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A NUMBER of GM Holden executives have flagged that they are “so appalled” at the way Holden dealers have been treated in compensation negotiations that they are prepared to be candid with an Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) inquiry into the matter providing they receive Section 155 protection from prosecution, GoAutoNews Premium has been told by sources close to the dispute.

The move by these executives follows increasing pressure on present and past Holden management who are facing public scrutiny in the Senate.

They are also likely to be interviewed by officers of the ACCC which itself has come under growing pressure from federal MPs and dealers to investigate Holden’s exit strategies and the way they impact on dealers and on car buyers and owners.

GoAutoNews Premium has been told that some executives have said they are prepared to be candid with the ACCC under Section 155 of the Competition and Consumer Act relating to information gathering where individuals can be rendered immune from prosecution if they volunteer information to an ACCC investigation.

GoAutoNews Premium has been told the executives are “appalled” at the way the exit has been handled and that publicity on the way the dealers have been treated was trashing the good reputation and legacy of Holden that has been built up on the backs of tens of thousands of current and former employees who have every right to be proud of what they had achieved for the brand.

But also preying on the minds of Holden managers (and potentially their legal advisers) is certain to be the increase in penalties by the ACCC in 2018 for individuals breaching the Act from $220,000 to $500,000 per breach.

This could spark a rush to be first in, best dressed in terms of Section 155 deals for Holden managers and follows the forwarding to the ACCC the names, positions and contact numbers of 40 former and current Holden senior managers who are thought to be able to help the ACCC with their enquiries.

The 40 names were sought by the ACCC as potential GM Holden managers who may be able to assist the ACCC get a handle on how the exit process and compensation was being handled by the company and to build a picture on how Holden dealer agreements allegedly put dealers at a disadvantage in the lead-up to the exit announcement.

The ACCC has recently been gathering documentation regarding dealer allegations about Holden stonewalling the negotiations and public allegations by dealers of breaches of the Act.

GoAutoNews Premium understands that ACCC chairman Rod Sims had been inundated by approaches from federal MPs worried about the way Holden dealers are being treated.

Mr Sims is now personally involved and has let it be known publicly that the regulator is far from impressed with the reported strategies adopted by GM in negotiating with the compensation packages for the dealers.

Meanwhile, on the heels of these developments, GM Holden has softened its hard line against dealers and has now held a national hook-up with the dealer subcommittee appointed to negotiate on behalf of 185 dealers.

Holden management had been refusing to meet with the group formed to negotiate a compensation package for the 185 Holden dealers. Holden had also been refusing to engage with the law firm appointed by the dealers, HWL Ebsworth, to represent the dealers in the dispute.

But after intense pressure by the ACCC and from federal MPs in the lead-up to Easter, Holden agreed to a hook-up post Easter and to include HWL Ebsworth in the discussions.

From the GM side the link was attended by GM’s senior legal people and Holden management.

The legal case for the dealers was put forward for GM’s lawyers to react, consider and recommend to Detroit. KPMG, which calculated the level of compensation being claimed by the dealers, was also in the hook-up. KPMG was there to lay out how it arrived at the level of compensation the dealers are demanding.

GM has offered its Australian dealers $1500 per car sold over the 2019 year. This is a long way short of the $6000 that has been arrived at on behalf of the dealer council by KPMG forensic accountants analysing the full impact of the loss of their Holden business.

While the meeting was legally privileged, GoAutoNews Premium understands there was an underlying desire by both sides to get a settlement as soon as possible.

However the dealers say they are “remaining cautious”.

Holden says: “Holden strongly disagrees with any assertion that it has acted improperly. Holden believes the compensation offer to its dealers is fair.”

By John Mellor

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