Chrysler given $4bn US government loan

Chrysler has received an initial $4 billion emergency loan from the US government, two days after the government completed a parallel payout to its larger rival General Motors Corp.

“This initial loan will allow the company to continue an orderly restructuring,” Chrysler Chief Executive Bob Nardelli said in a statement.

US Treasury Department spokeswoman Brookly McLaughlin confirmed that the government had sent the $4 billion in funds to Chrysler yesterday.

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General Motors Corp received $4 billion in emergency loans on Wednesday. Both Chrysler and GM have said they need the infusion of government cash to meet payouts to suppliers at a time when a plunge in auto sales has drained their cash holdings.

Officials have not spelled out why the loan to GM and a separate $6 billion funding for its affiliated finance firm GMAC were completed ahead of the Chrysler transaction.

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