The US government has agreed to provide $17.4bn in loans to Detroit’s struggling car manufacturers, President Bush has announced.
The money will come from the White House-controlled Troubled Asset Relief Program – a huge fund originally set up to prop up Wall Street banks.
General Motors and Chrysler will get an initial $13.4bn with a further $4bn arriving in February. This should keep both companies in business until March.
Allowing the US car industry to fail would not be "a responsible course of action”, said President Bush.
Under the terms of the Bush Administration’s new plan, the car makers must demonstrate financial viability by March otherwise the loans will be immediately recalled.
The White House has been forced to come to the rescue of the car makers after the US Senate threw out proposals to offer federal loans to Detroit’s Big Three with strict caveats attached.
Ford has backed away from taking the government’s money. It says it can continue operating, provided the economic circumstances do not worsen.
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Re: GM and Chrysler get bailout
Ahhh, 12th, that would be the man who drives a very nice, expensive Audi, but lives on a Barratts estate. One of the saddest from the other forum.
Steve, is he stalking you?
Re: GM and Chrysler get bailout
Nice to see it's not just 'the other place' where you are singularly incapable of getting along with others. Time for a long, hard look in the mirror...
Re: GM and Chrysler get bailout
Surely this is just a survival loan and a doomsday weapon for the management, they now have a few months to cut costs and probably the size of the companies drastically. Importantly they can go to the unions and demand layoffs, new productivity, working practices and pay scales with everyone knowing that unless they agree and it looks good on paper to the government, its lights out.
The union leaders won't look very impressive if they can be blamed for the termination of a national industry - and hundreds of thousands of assembly operators are all looking for jobs at the same time - no chance. Americans have shot a lot of people for a lot less.