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General Motors Corp. posted a $9.6 billion fourth-quarter loss Thursday and said it burned through $6.2 billion of cash in the last three months of 2008.

Automaker opts for fresh leadership to meet the challenge of maintaining profitability in a weak market.

DETROIT (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co has reached a tentative deal with the United Auto Workers union on changes to retiree health care, becoming the first Detroit automaker to secure union concessions on the key issue.

Automakers tell the Obama administration that they need at least an additional $14 billion in loans in order to survive economic downturn.

More on Auto Bailout DETROIT — General Motors Corp. and the United Auto Workers were getting close to an agreement on concessions, a person briefed on the negotiations said Tuesday, just hours before GM and Chrysler LLC must submit a restructuring plan to the Treasury Department to justify its federal loans.

Details of the deal were not available. Negotiations went all night Monday and into Tuesday, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the plan has yet to be submitted.

GM's viability plan will offer the U.S. a choice to commit billions more in bailout money or provide financial backing as part of a bankruptcy filing.

General Motors announced Tuesday it is cutting 10,000 workers, or 14% of its salaried jobs worldwide.

Nissan Motor Co. Monday said it has swung to a fiscal third quarter loss on a "severe downturn in the global economy" and the impact of a strengthened yen, adding the deterioration in business conditions forced the Japanese auto major to slash its full-year profit and revenue forecasts.

Ford Motor Co. may have to contribute $4 billion to its pension plan after a 2008 shortfall, a cash drain that risks dragging the second-largest U.S. automaker closer to a federal bailout.

DETROIT (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co posted a deeper than expected quarterly net loss on Thursday, but said it would have sufficient cash to fund its turnaround without seeking government loans, and shares rose in premarket trade.