Barack Obama, Auto Industry Bailout | featured news

The Obama administration remains focused on bringing Chrysler and Fiat into a working partnership, a U.S. official said on Thursday, dismissing a news report that the U.S. car-maker faced imminent bankruptcy.

Facing Obama administration demands that it move quickly to restructure, General Motors is apparently speeding plans to drastically trim its dealership network. Reuters reports, "General Motors Corp has told U.S. dealers it is accelerating its timetable for closing about 1,700 dealerships as it rushes to meet a June 1 deadline to restructure under U.S. government oversight, people with knowledge of the discussions said." General Motors currently supports more than 6,200 ...

President Obama is making a formal announcement this hour about his plans for troubled automakers General Motors and Chrysler, which have already been given $17.4 billion to keep them running.

The Obama administration asked Rick Wagoner, the chairman and CEO of General Motors, to step down and he agreed, a White House official said.

President Barack Obama will announce the next steps to help General Motors Corp and Chrysler LLC on Monday, the White House said, amid signs of progress for GM in talks aimed at slashing its debt and cutting costs in response to slack demand.

The Obama administration task force is likely to recommend more aid for struggling U.S. automakers, a senior senator said on Wednesday.

Automakers tell the Obama administration that they need at least an additional $14 billion in loans in order to survive economic downturn.