GM tells Obama to keep March loan money

General Motors Corp. said it told President Barack Obama’s autos task force that it won’t require $2 billion to survive this month, while Chrysler LLC said it still needs aid in March. “We’ve run a little ahead in some of the cost-reduction stuff," GM chief Executive Rick Wagoner told reporters in Washington today, without committing to a deadline for needing aid.

Chrysler, which has requested an additional $5 billion “is focused on its viability plan," spokesman Stuart Schorr said in a statement. Schorr noted that Chrysler said Feb. 17 it “will not have ample liquidity to operate," if it doesn’t receive additional funds and restructure liabilities by March 31.

GM’s delay in requesting more government loans may indicate that about $15 billion in spending cuts are working. In July, GM said it was reducing salaried benefits, delaying products and closing plants to trim the need for cash, and added Nov. 7 that it would scale back further. On Feb. 17, GM said it needed $2 billion by March 31 to stay in business even after reining in expenses.

“It’s positive with the respect that they are able to get by another month without government loans," said Dennis Virag, president of Automotive Consulting Group Inc. in Ann Arbor, Michigan. “The downside is that while things are changing rapidly, it still gives the appearance GM doesn’t have internal control over what their costs are. It could cause confusion."