GM wants twice as much

Posted by Wendy King on 02/21/2009

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TONY VAN ALPHEN
BUSINESS REPORTER

Reeling General Motors has significantly increased the amount it’s seeking as a lifeline from Canadian taxpayers to more than $6 billion.

GM of Canada Ltd., at one time the country’s biggest industrial enterprise, submitted a survival plan to the federal and Ontario governments yesterday that asks for a lot more in loans than the automaker was originally offered, as well as proposes historic changes in the way it operates.

Those changes would include a shift in responsibility of future benefit costs to its union; government help to pay for existing pension obligations; wage and salary cuts for all employees; formation of a separate “contract manufacturer” company and a significant reduction in dealers.

Although GM would not disclose the value of its loan request, federal Industry Minister Tony Clement and Ontario Economic Development Minister Michael Bryant confirmed that it is between $6 billion and $7 billion.

In December, GM sought up to $3.4 billion in loans from the federal and Ontario governments, while Chrysler Canada Inc. sought $1.6 billion. At the time, the governments offered GM about $3 billion and Chrysler $1 billion in short-term loans…

www.thestar.com

Posted by Wendy King on 02/21/2009. Filed under Barrie,Collingwood,Owen Sound,Stayner,Wasaga Beach. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry