Chrysler to get $15-billion in government aid

Financing from Canadian and U.S. governments will help car maker operate through Chapter 11 bankruptcy
JACQUIE MCNISH AND GREG KEENAN
Globe and Mail Update
April 30, 2009 at 9:25 AM EDT

U.S. and Canadian governments will provide about $15-billion (U.S.) in financing to Chrysler LLC to help keep it operating through bankruptcy protection, sources said Thursday.

The federal and Ontario governments will provide about $3-billion, the sources said, which will cover debtor-in-possession financing and exit financing when the beleaguered auto maker emerges from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The governments will hold a 10-per-cent stake in Chrysler, with the Canadian governments' stake sitting at 2 per cent.

Chrysler is expected to file for bankruptcy protection on Friday.

Talks between debt holders that were insisting on a higher cash payment than major banks accepted, broke down early Thursday, although the deadline for a deal is still 11:59 p.m. on Thursday.

A key piece of the Chrysler plan is in place, however, with the signing of a strategic alliance with Fiat SpA imminent and expected to be announced late Thursday morning by U.S. President Barack Obama, sources said.

Fiat will take a 20-per-cent stake in Chrysler.

If the No. 3 Detroit auto maker goes into bankruptcy protection as expected, it will be split into two companies, with its key Canadian operations being placed into the part of the company that will emerge from creditor protection and form the basis for the Fiat-Chrysler strategic alliance. Unwanted assets will be hived off into another company.

Source;
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090430.wgovs0430/BNStory/Business/home

Chrysler threatens to pull out of Canada

Updated: Wed Mar. 11 2009 10:50:07 PM
ctvtoronto.ca

Chrysler LLC says it may no longer be able to operate in Canada unless Ottawa loans the company billions of dollars and workers agree to massive wage cuts.

Chrysler president and vice chairman Tom LaSorda told MPs Wednesday the company is seeking US$2.3 billion from the Canadian government -- roughly a quarter of what it's asking from the White House.

He also said Canada's tax agency must agree to not demand more cash or collateral in a tax fight with the company. The Canada Revenue Agency is withholding $300 million in tax rebated and has put a $500-million lien on Chrysler's Brampton plant.

"The current success and long-term viability of Chrysler's manufacturing operations in Canada is very much dependent on (those) three critical factors," he told a committee hearing.

"Chrysler LLC cannot afford to manufacture products in a jurisdiction that in uncompetitive relative to other automotive jurisdictions."

New Democrat MP Joe Coartin, a member of the parliamentary committee that heard LaSorda's comments, dismissed them as little more than posturing.

"The bottom line is that Chrysler does not function in the United States without Canada," he said.

Chrysler Canada and its parent company, Chrysler LLC, have had their sales hammered by the economic downturn. Its sales were down 27 per cent in February compared to last year and it has asked Ottawa for a $1 billion in emergency loans as it works on its restructuring plan.

LaSorda said his company's labour costs are $70 an hour in wages and benefits for both current workers and retirees. He says it needs to be cut by $20 to be competitive.

Just last week, Chrysler announced it would be cutting 1,200 jobs in Windsor, Ont., by eliminating the third shift at its minivan assembly plant.

The Windsor plant produces the Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan minivans and has about 4,450 hourly workers. It is the company's only supplier on minivans as two other minivan plants have been shut down in the U.S.

LaSorda said that the company could move the Windsor plant to either of the other sites they previously shut down.

The Dodge Grand Caravan was Canada's No. 3 best selling vehicle in February.

Analysts say Chrysler is teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. On top of the most recent job cut announcements, it has slashed about 32,000 jobs to staunch the financial bleeding, and has cut production levels by 30 per cent.

With a report by CTV's Graham Richardson in Ottawa




Source (with a Video Feed);


http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20090311/chrysler_caw_090311/20090311?hub=Toronto