Visteon to give up some GM parts business

Visteon Corp has sought U.S. Bankruptcy Court permission to drop contracts to supply auto interiors, fuel tanks, climate controls and lighting components to General Motors Co under a deal with the automaker that would give it more than $22 million.

Visteon wants to drop that GM business and close two related factories in Ohio and Missouri to pursue more profitable business with GM, the auto parts supplier said in a U.S. Bankruptcy Court filing on Thursday.

GM represents less than 5 percent of Visteon's total revenue. The parts maker, which filed for bankruptcy in May, had total sales of about $9.54 billion in 2008.

Visteon, a former parts unit that Ford Motor Co spun off in 2000, asked the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware to set a hearing Oct. 7 to approve the agreement with GM.

GM has opted to re-source production of interiors parts from Visteon's plant in Eureka, Missouri; fuel tanks from its Springfield, Ohio, plant; and climate components at its Coclisa, Mexico, plant to other suppliers.

Visteon also will consolidate lighting component production in Mexico and has agreed to drop some of that GM business.

GM has agreed to remove any holds on new business from Visteon under the agreement and Visteon will continue to provide parts on critical GM programs, the filing said.

(Reporting by David Bailey and Kevin Krolicki, editing by Matthew Lewis)