GM seeks $16 billion more in U.S. help

GM asked the federal government on Tuesday for as much as $16.6 billion in additional federal aid to help it survive. Without the new funding, the automaker could run out of money sometime in March.

Under the plan submitted to the U.S. Treasury Department, GM loans and lines of credit would total $30 billion.

GM would also cut 47,000 jobs globally by year end and close five U.S. plants by 2012. It raised the possibility of killing the Saturn brand when production of its current models ends in 2012.

GM received the last installment of a previously approved $13.4 billion loan on Tuesday, but is requesting another $4.6 billion to meet its Dec. 2 request of $18 billion. It then will ask for $4.5 billion to help it repay a revolving line of credit coming due in the fall of 2011.

GM also is seeking a $7.5 billion revolving line of credit to help it if auto sales worsen later this year or next year. GM plans to start repaying the loans in 2012.

The proposals are contained in a restructuring plan made public by GM on Tuesday. Both GM and Chrysler LLC were required to deliver plans to the Treasury Department on Tuesday. Chrysler is asking for an additional $2 billion in loans.

GM, Chrysler and Ford Motor Co. on Tuesday also said they reached new tentative labor agreements with the UAW. The deals, still subject to worker ratification, are expected to lower labor costs further from the 2007 contract agreement.

Projections deteriorate

GM said that it was seeking increased bailout aid because the automotive market has deteriorated more severely than it anticipated. On Dec. 2, when it submitted its initial restructuring plan, GM projected that it would have a 20.5 percent share of U.S. industry sales ranging from 10.5 million to 12 million units this year.

In the new plan, GM

By Jamie LaReau and Harry Stoffer- Automotive News