Denny Hecker closes Roseville Hyundai

[MR.hp]

Just saw this on KARE11 and they talked about recent happenings. Hope this is not a trend but it does not look good.

http://www.kare11.com/news/news_arti...530218&catid=2

[black_7]

Hyundais suck anyway, too bad for the employees though.

[MR.hp]

Here is the latest, Hecker closed 6 dealers today and sold 3 others and I know it will affect the people where I work as they did a fair amount of buisness with them.

[98 cobra s/c]

we should buy one......

[SS427]

Times are getting tough boys

[id 34]

And GM is sueing him

[MR.hp]

And GM is sueing him

Don't blame them, he wants to sell Hyundai's at the southveiw Chev store.

I wonder if anybody remembers that the old Central Chrysler store that went out of buis. in the late 70's was his also. My father in law was the body shop manager and told us one day that the IRS came in and shut the place down.

[MR.hp]

Looks like more bad news for Denny he is now being sued by Crysler finacial for 550 mil. and just heard that the Polads are looking to but the Inver Grove stores. I think all of his stores will be closed soon.

[id 34]

"Employees at Denny Hecker auto dealerships got a nasty surprise this week when they learned their company health insurance had been canceled and that some workers would not get a paycheck Tuesday.

Employees and their family members said they learned late Tuesday that their company health insurance with Medica had been canceled on Monday due to lack of payment from the company. Some employees said they found out when they called to inquire about a medical bill they received in the mail. One family said it found out only after bringing their child to the emergency room and being told they no longer had medical coverage.

Hecker has about 500 employees remaining in his various enterprises. It’s unclear how many of them were affected by the cutoff in insurance or payroll delays.

Barbara Jerich, president of the Hecker Automotive Group, told the Star Tribune via e-mail that employees were notified Tuesday.

“We were informed on late Monday that the benefits would be suspended as of Tuesday,” she wrote. “Some employees may have gone into the doctor or to the pharmacy before we held the meetings’ letting them know about what happened.”

In another dose of bad news, some employees who are paid twice each month learned they did not get their regularly scheduled paycheck Tuesday because of a lack of cash within the company. Employees asked not to be identified for fear of losing their jobs.

Some said they were told that unemployment benefits would not be contested if they decide to leave due to lack of payment.

They are the latest casualty of the Denny Hecker auto empire that is in shambles after a series of lawsuits demanding $567 million in combined loans and contractual payments that are allegedly in default.

In a statement Wednesday afternoon to the Star Tribune, the Denny Hecker Automotive Group blamed “an unfavorable cash situation,” for holding up some paychecks.

“We expect to have these checks released no later than Friday. As a result of the downturn in the market and the economy overall, many dealers are having to deplete their on-hand capital,” the company wrote.

Officials blamed a “difficult cash flow position” and the “negative press we have received” for its health coverage interruption as well. As a result, “our medical provider put additional requirements on us, which we were not able to meet with just a few days notice,” the statement said. “We are working on a plan to reinstate these benefits and hope to have a resolution in the next few days.”

The statement did not describe the additional requirements imposed by its health care provider. The company expressed regrets and thanks to employees for their continued loyalty.

Local dealers and auto industry experts said privately that they were surprised that Hecker’s situation had declined so precipitously that the health insurance of remaining workers would be affected. They were unaware of any other auto dealers who were withholding pay or letting health insurance lapse because of cash flow problems.

Hecker has cut about 2,000 employees across the country as he shrunk his vast automotive business holdings after they became mired in financial trouble in the fall as dealership traffic slowed, consumer credit tightened and the recession deepened.

Hecker sued his longtime financial backer, Chrysler Financial, for breach of contract in November when it severed ties.

Chrysler yanked credit lines for 13 Hecker dealerships and 28 other business entities. In March it began foreclosure proceedings on 21 of his properties.

In January Chrysler counter-sued, accusing Hecker of failing to repay it for hundreds of vehicles he had already sold. The lawsuit listed 41 Hecker business entities that it helped to finance and demanded $550 million in defaulted and accelerated loan payments. The amount included a $50 million personal loan and about $73 million that Chrysler recently retrieved after selling off various property.

Since last summer, Hecker has shut 15 car dealerships in Minnesota and sold or shut two in California. He suspended operations of his Walden Fleet Group and Rosedale Dodge leasing operations. And he put his Advantage Rent A Car operation in bankruptcy court in December and announced last month that Enterprise Rent A Car will buy the assets from eight of its 48 locations." -Star Tribune

[MR.hp]

Ya but, Last month the place I work at delivered his cad escalade. Sure would be nice if he is driving a Geo metro. My Father-in-law always said Denny was a shady dude, Looks like he was right.

[MR.hp]

Looks like Hecker Stillwater Cad is now closed.
How much further can the others be

Hecker Employees Not
Getting Paid?



STILLWATER, Minn. - Denny Hecker's Stillwater Cadillac dealership is the latest to go under, and employees at his remaining businesses are saying they won’t go back to work if they aren't paid soon.

Stillwater Cadillac is the Denny Hecker has had to close or sell in the past few months, and the company is apparently having trouble making payroll at its other businesses.

Marilyn, who doesn't want her last name disclosed, told FOX 9 she didn’t get a paycheck last week for her hourly shift as a receptionist at a Denny Hecker dealership.

"People are sitting around and it's 5:00 going, 'Are we going to get paid? Do we have paychecks coming?' Marilyn said. "There are no paychecks coming. I called corporate. There is no money in the account. What are they going to pay them with?"

Marilyn said she is waiting on some $650 she's owed, and has no plans of returning to work.

"If I want to volunteer my time, I will volunteer it for a worthy cause," she said. "I am not going to volunteer my time for a crook like Denny Hecker."

It is unclear how many Denny Hecker employees are due their recent wages. Efforts to reach the company were unsuccessful.

While some workers apparently aren't getting paid, several dozen don't have jobs at all after Hecker closed its Stillwater Cadillac dealership, with a staff of about 60, on Monday.

As employees removed the Hecker name from license plates, customers arrived to find the entrances blocked with vehicles.

The company has seemingly been in a tailspin since Chrysler Financial cut off Hecker's line of credit late last year.

Chrysler Financial sued Hecker in January, saying he owed $550 million, including $50 million lent directly to Hecker.

Last month, a total of 21 Denny Hecker properties went into foreclosure, facing auction. The foreclosed properties include 19 in Minnesota, one in Hudson, Wis. and one in Texas.

[MR.hp]

Stay tuned just heard a rumor that Southview is next to go, But it's just a rumor you know. LOL

[HOTCIVIC]

What goes around comes around. You treat people like shit and it will come back on you. I don't wish anything negative on him, but I also don't feel bad for him one bit.

[MR.hp]

Denny is to be charged now with either DUI or DWI and careless driving for an accident that he had a couple of months ago by Ply. Police. WCCO 12 noon report today. More on this tonight.

[HOTCIVIC]

Yep he was on all sorts of stuff. Painkillers, Xanax, Adderall, Benzos - no wonder he crashed.