Workers loaded up Ford trucks, SUVs and sedans Tuesday
afternoon, one more step in the closing of one of the city’s
biggest car dealerships.
Workers loaded up Ford trucks, SUVs and sedans Tuesday afternoon, one more step in the closing of one of the city’s biggest car dealerships.
A week after Gilroy Pontiac Buick GMC closed its doors, leaving 26 people without a job, owner Don Malinoff decided to shutter his nearby Gilroy Ford Lincoln Mercury franchise last week, leaving another 31 employees jobless, according to employees and the store’s general manager.
Malinoff locked the showroom doors Feb. 14 and then on Feb. 17 his son, Don Malinoff Jr., and General Manager Joe Lopez met with City Administrator Tom Haglund for 45 minutes to discuss the possibility of the city providing some non-monetary assistance – perhaps a written request from the city to Malinoff’s chief lender, General Motors Acceptance Corporation, asking the financial services company for more breathing room.
Haglund, who said he has also received a sit-down request from Gilroy Volkswagen Mazda, said the could not help because of the general fund’s $2.3 million deficit and its shrinking reserve that could face insolvency next year if the city council does not act.
