President Obama says his administration is willing to extend further aid to the US auto industry but not without some stringent conditions.
The administration has not yet announced the details of the plan or how much more bailout money GM and Chrysler will be receiving. But Obama has said that the automakers will have to make difficult choices and find a way to prove that they are viable companies deserving of more taxpayer funds.
If the automakers aren't "willing to make the changes and the restructuring[s] that are necessary, then I'm not willing to have taxpayer money chase after bad money," Obama said yesterday during an online townhall meeting.
GM has received 13.4 billion US dollars in bailout funds and is asking for an additional 16.6 billion. Chrysler has gotten 4 billion so far and says it needs another 5 billion to stay afloat.
The president's Automotive Task Force will be instructing GM and Chrysler to layout their restructuring plans and get further cost-saving concessions from autoworkers and bondholders. The problem of bonds is an especially difficult issue for GM, which owes 27.5 billion to bondholders who are skeptical of GM's offer to swap debt for equity.
The administration will announce the full plan on Monday, before Obama departs on a trip to Europe the next day.
