Detroit 3 seeking $6.8 billion from Canadian government

Filed under: Government/Legal, Chrysler, LLC., Ford, GM, Earnings/Financials, Canada

What to do when you wanted $34 billion and Congress only gave you $15 billion? Try again, but this time go North young man. The Detroit 3 are now making a pitch to the Canadian legislature seeking an additional $6.8 billion from Canada where nearly 100,000 workers are employed in factories and dealerships bearing the Chrysler, General Motors or Ford name.

General Motors of Canada has asked for $2.4 billion in loans, Chrysler Canada Inc. is looking for $1.6 billion and Ford wants a $2 billion line of credit on "stand-by" to be used "only if the current economic crisis worsens." GM is also seeking an immediate $800 million to make it through the end of the year. The Detroit automakers are quick to point out that these amounts are proportional to the U.S. bailout requests and that they are asking for loans, not handouts.

Federal Industry Minister Tony Clement was in Washington during the recent hearings and says the Canadian government will have to review the requests before pledging any funds. He had previously confirmed that funds were set aside to help automakers in the most recent budget. Premier Dalton McGuinty also pointed out the need to balance the public's needs with the carmakers' requests: "We want to move as quickly as we can, but we don't want to move so quickly that we end up with a response that is irresponsible given the legitimate demands of taxpayers." Thanks for the tip, Xeyad!

[Source: The Hamilton Spectator via MotorGears.com}

Detroit 3 seeking $6.8 billion from Canadian government originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 08 Dec 2008 12:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read |  |  | 

Related posts:

• Ford Cars to Run on Laser Beams?
• 562 HP Hennessey HPE550 Camaro: Powerful
• Obama Raises the Bar for Cleaner Cars
• Who has the best ideas: Congress or a guy named Norm?
• Jeep Gladiator: The 2009 Wrangler-based Truck

Related posts:

• Vertu & Ferrari Launch Limited Edition Phone
• USCAR gets two new members, DTE Energy and SCE
• GM struggling to recruit engineers for advanced projects
• The new XJ is expected to be revealed at the Frankfurt show in September, ...
• If you cannot get enough of Audi, then the Audi TV channel will be right ...