8:07 am, March 30, 2009
PRESIDENT Barack Obama has forced the chief executive of troubled US carmaker GM to resign.
Rick Wagoner will relinquish his post immediately. It comes as Obama is preparing a new rescue package for GM and fellow troubled maker Chrysler.
The two car manufactruers have already received £14.4bn in bail-outs – but the BBC is reporting Chrysler has requested a further $5bn while GM says it needs $16.7bn more.
Reports in America suggest a frustrated Obama will reject the two firms’ turnaround plans as unrealistic, which heightens the risk the carmakers could go bankrupt..
Obama’s ‘auto task force’ has reported on the financial health of both carmakers, saying that Chrysler was not viable in its current form.
It goes as far as to demand a merger with Fiat or another manufacturer if Chrysler is to survive – and states working capital will only be provided for the next 30 days.
It adds that it would fund GM for only the next 60 days – meaning both makers need new plans for survival.
‘Their best chance at success may well require utilising the bankruptcy code in a quick and surgical way,’ the task force said.
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