Just when you thought the much celebrated car bailout in the U.S. was forgotten and done with, Canada is now the next country being sought by GM and Chrysler for help. The Canadian units of General Motors Corp and Chrysler are seeking as much as C$10 billion ($8 billion) in aid from the Canadian and Ontario governments as they fight to survive an industry-wide crisis.

The requests represent a big increase in the amount of aid that the companies had previously said they needed. Canada had pledged C$4 billion in support at the end of last year.

The companies are reeling from the brutal downturn in the highly integrated North American auto sector and are seeking repayable loans to help them survive.

It proposed a 10 percent cut in executive salaries, and reduced pay and benefits for salaried employees.

Significantly, the plan would also keep 17 to 20 percent of GM’s production in Canada over the next five years, the company said, a feature the Canadian government signaled was essential.

GM Canada refrained from providing a dollar amount on its proposal, but Tony Clement, the Canadian industry minister, said GM is asking for C$6 billion ($4.8 billion) to C$7 billion in repayable loans.

(Source) Reuters

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Job cuts seem to be common in the news these days. And for Nissan Motors, addressing a sales slump means cutting down manpower to help curtail costs.

With the continued decline in car sales, Nissan has no choice but to cut manpower costs for its Sunderland which employs around 5,000 workers. 1,200 jobs are to be cut as Britain joins the ranks of businesses experiencing difficulties in light of the bad economy we are in today.

“It is essential we take the right action now to ensure we are in a strong and viable position once business conditions return to normal. Unavoidably, this means we have had to make some very tough decisions in recent weeks.

“However by doing so, we are helping to safeguard our long-term future which I believe is extremely positive.”

Job cuts in the auto sector are measures that many car companies hate to do. But if they want to continue operating, such measures have to be done even if it means laying off some workers.

(Source) AFP

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