General Motors, Chrysler LLC and the government today were making final arrangements to transfer the first installments of federal emergency loans to the automakers.
"We're making good progress finalizing the automaker loans and are committed to closing them on a timeline that will meet their individual near-term funding needs," Treasury Department spokeswoman Brookly McLaughlin said in an e-mail to Automotive News.
Under terms of a deal announced Dec. 19 by President Bush, GM and Chrysler are to receive $4 billion each from the government today.
GM spokesman Greg Martin told Automotive News he expects the transaction to be completed on time.
Comment was not immediately available from Chrysler.
The Bush administration promises another $9.4 billion for GM early next year. The final $4 billion of that amount will require congressional action.
Amid collapsing sales, GM and Chrysler told government officials they need the federal funds to avoid running out of cash.
The automakers must file plans by Feb. 17 describing how they will restructure to become viable for the long term. Unless the agreement is changed by the Obama administration, a president's designee, or car czar, is to decide by March 31 if an automaker's restructuring plan is sufficient. If not, the first loans will be called in, possibly forcing the company into bankruptcy.
Ford Motor Co. is not seeking an emergency loan but wants to be able to tap a $9 billion government line of credit if necessary.
Together the Detroit 3 CEOs told lawmakers early in December they need access to at least $34 billion from the government to get through the extreme economic downturn.
Some analysts and economists say much more government help will be needed.
