GM Seeks $18B in Aid, Needs $4B Immediately

General Motors says it needs an immediate $4 billion loan from the government to get through the month, the Detroit Free Press reports. “Absent support, we can’t continue to operate,” the carmaker’s COO told Congress. GM is requesting a total of $18 billion in federal aid—$12 billion in loans and a $6 billion emergency line of credit. But “the first $4 billion is crucial,” Fritz Henderson said.

In return, the company offered to cut 30,000 jobs, close nine plants, reopen talks with the UAW, and possibly eliminate or sell its Saturn, Saab, Hummer, and Pontiac brands. Chrysler said it, too, faced insolvency this month unless it got $7 billion, while Ford sought a $9 billion in a line of credit  it could tap in an emergency. Withholding aid would have "long-term consequences to the US economy," GM wrote in its report to Congress. (More General Motors stories.)