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Troubled US carmakers General Motors and Chrysler must later submit their survival plans to the government, as part of the terms of their bail-outs. They are set to detail their latest cost-cutting programmes in order to keep multi-billion government's loans. A US official said GM would get another $4bn ($2.8bn) on Tuesday on top of already received loans worth $10.4bn. Chrysler is also expected to get an additional $3bn loan on Tuesday. It has already received $4bn. Union talks GM's cost-cutting plans are expected to include the closure several plants, and sale of brands like Hummer and Saab. The company confirmed last week it was cutting 10,000 jobs worldwide by the end of 2009. About 3,400 jobs will go in the US under GM's initial restructuring plan submitted to the government last December. However, GM is not expected to reached detailed redundancy agreements with the United Auto Workers (UAW) union by the government's deadline. According to sources, the sides cannot agree on such issues as contributions towards run retiree health care expenses, elimination of productivity bonuses and unemployment pay period, though they are said to have made progress. Future funds The US Treasury will be studying the survival plans for several weeks before making a decision whether to call in or extend the loans. The decision is due by the end of March. GM and Chrysler received their first bail-outs at the end of last year, warning that without the support they risked financial ruin. Ford, the third of the "Big Three" US carmakers has yet to require any bail-outs, but says it may need funds in the future. GM, Ford and Chrysler have all seen sales fall sharply in their home market. While this decline reflects an industry-wide fall that has also hit European and Japanese carmakers in the US, the Big Three have also been criticised for not offering an attractive range of vehicles. They have been said to be too slow in responding to the growing popularity of smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles. 'Expertise' Meanwhile, it has been reported that US President Barack Obama has decided to create a new car task force, designed to restructure the struggling industry. However, no formal announcement has been made so far. According to Obama administration officials, the force is an alternative idea to the option of a single "car czar" with far reaching powers. US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and top presidential economic aide Lawrence Summers are said to head the multi-agency operation. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the task force would provide "a vast amount of expertise that crosses a number of governmental agencies and departments". 'Wait and see' The Detroit carmakers are considered to be too big to fail, as their collapse would trigger serious problems for suppliers, dealers and other businesses, potentially resulting in massive job cuts. Meanwhile, when asked if the White House was ruling out bankruptcy for GM and Chrysler, White House advisor said on Sunday: "I'm not going to prejudge anything." "We'll wait and see what they have to say on Tuesday," he told Fox News.

DATED: 19.02.09

FEED: AW