Sen. Charles Schumer was in Rochester on Monday to call for General Motors Corp. to buy back Delphi Corp. as part of its restructuring plan.
Delphi employs some 1,200 in Rochester.
“We are in a time when big decisions need to be made, and decisive action needs to be taken,” said Schumer, D-N.Y. “To preserve these 1,200 jobs and help secure the survival of the company, GM needs to reacquire these essential factories to preserve vital jobs and secure a supply chain for the future, and Delphi needs to be a willing partner.
“Delphi and its creditors should negotiate in good faith with GM,” Schumer said.
GM’s purchase would ensure the company an affordable, reliable supply chain in the future, he said.
Delphi has been operating under bankruptcy protection since 2005.The Rochester plant and another in Lockport, Niagara County, are among four Delphi plants in the country that are considered essential to GM’s operation, Schumer said.
The four plants also are seen as likely to be the first to become profitable again as the economy turns around, the senator said. He has discussed GM’s purchase of these plants with the Obama administration’s auto czar, Steven Rattner, and has secured his support of the plan.
Delphi was spun off from General Motors in 1999. Delphi is GM’s largest supplier and sold the company $5.5 billion in parts and services in 2008, accounting for 31 percent of Delphi’s revenue, Schumer said.
Since Delphi declared bankruptcy, GM has taken charges of almost $11 billion to pay for the restructuring efforts of Delphi’s North American operation, Schumer said.

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Sen. Charles Schumer was in Rochester on Monday to call for General Motors Corp. to buy back Delphi Corp. as part of its restructuring plan.