Chrysler, GM May Need 'Considerably' More US Aid

Chrysler and GM could end up needing a “considerably higher” amount than the $21.6 billion so far requested, Bloomberg reports. Steven Rattner, who heads President Obama’s auto task force, said it's possible the request could go as high as $40 billion. He also said that Chrysler’s mention of a merger with Fiat is a “worthy idea” because the company is “just kind of barely making it” alone.

“What they’ve asked for depends on them achieving plans that are somewhat ambitious,” Rattner said of the aid currently requested by the two struggling automakers. “Like all management teams they tend to take a reasonably, slightly perhaps, optimistic view of their business. So it could be more, I can’t rule that out.” He will offer a "sense of direction" by the end of the month, Bloomberg notes.
(More Chrysler stories.)