Auto companies grab for emergency loans from Bush, look to Obama

WASHINGTON - The long-term fate of the auto industry rests with Barack Obama now that President Bush has given car companies $17.4 billion in emergency rescue loans.

Simply letting the Big Three collapse was not an option amid a recession, housing slump, and financial credit crunch, Bush said in announcing the short-term loans and demanding tough concessions from the automakers and their employees.

"By giving the auto companies a chance to restructure, we will shield the American people from a harsh economic blow at a vulnerable time," the president said in his weekly radio address yesterday.

Meanwhile, the Canadian prime minister, Stephen Harper, announced that the federal and Ontario governments will provide the Canadian subsidiaries of the Detroit Three automakers with $3.3 billion in emergency loans.

"Canadian taxpayers expect their money will be used to restructure and renew the automotive industry in this country," Harper said yesterday.

The Detroit companies pledged to rebuild their once-mighty industry, though they acknowledged it will be tough to fight their way back from the brink of bankruptcy. If the carmakers fail to prove viability - a positive cash flow and ability to make good on the loans - by March 31, they will be required to repay the government loans.

That's something they would find all but impossible to do.

The autoworkers union complained the deal was too harsh on its members, while Bush's fellow Republicans in Congress said it was simply bad business to bail out the industry using money from the $700 billion rescue program for financial institutions.

Obama, who takes office a month from yesterday, praised Bush's action but said the companies "must not squander this chance to reform bad management practices and begin the long-term restructuring" that is absolutely necessary.

Obama will be free to reopen the arrangement from the government's side if he chooses, and the head of the United Auto Workers said the union would be appealing to the new president and the strongly Democratic new Congress on that subject.

Bush said the loans will give automakers three months to institute plans to restructure into viable companies, "which we believe they are capable of doing." He said if restructuring cannot be done outside bankruptcy, the loans will provide time for companies to make the legal and financial preparations needed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

"This restructuring will require meaningful concessions from all involved in the auto industry - management, labor unions, creditors, bondholders, dealers, and suppliers," he said. "If a company fails to come up with a viable plan by March 31, it will be required to repay its federal loans. Taken together, these conditions send a clear message to everyone involved in American automakers: The time to make the hard decisions to become viable is now - or the only option will be bankruptcy."

Some $13.4 billion of the rescue money will be available this month and next - $9.4 billion for General Motors Corp. and $4 billion for Chrysler LLC, which have said they could be facing bankruptcy soon without government help. GM is set to receive the remaining $4 billion in loans after more money is released from the financial rescue account. Ford Motor Co. says it doesn't need cash now, but would be badly damaged if one or both of the other two failed.

Under terms of the loans, the government will have the option of becoming a stockholder in the companies, much as it has with major banks.