Big Three, Bailouts | featured news

General Motors Corp. could get as much as $5 billion more in federal loans, while Chrysler LLC could get $500 million as they race against government-imposed deadlines to restructure, according to a government report filed Tuesday.

President Barack Obama will announce the next steps to help General Motors Corp and Chrysler LLC on Monday, the White House said, amid signs of progress for GM in talks aimed at slashing its debt and cutting costs in response to slack demand.

US carmaker General Motors says it will not need the $2bn it had previously requested for March from the government.

General Motors Corp.'s auditors have raised "substantial doubt" about the troubled automaker's ability to continue operations, and the company said it may have to seek bankruptcy protection if it can't execute a huge restructuring plan.

The president's chief of staff criticized U.S. car companies Sunday for relying too long and gas guzzlers and not investing enough in alternative energy vehicles.

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.

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.

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.