U.S. Treasury Loans General Motors Another $2 Billion

The U.S. Treasury Friday announced it had loaned General Motors an additional $2 billion to help the troubled auto giant operate until a June 1 deadline for submitting a new restructuring plan. The government said earlier in the week that it would provide GM with $5 billion and give competitor Chrysler $500 million while the two loss-making firms came up with plans to return to profitability. The Treasury has yet to provide any new money to Chrysler, which is due to submit its restructuring proposals to the government by May 1. Authorities have warned that bankruptcy was an option for both companies if they failed to come up with realistic plans for becoming "viable" by the deadlines. GM, which had already received $13.4 billion in loans from the government, was given 60 days to present an aggressive restructuring plan after authorities rejected previous proposals from the firm in late March. Chrysler, considered the most fragile of the big U.S. automakers, has received $4 billion dollars in loans. Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2009