GM and Chrysler from Canada

ainet.cn 2009年02月25日

        General Motors and Chrysler have told authorities in Canada that they need as much as C$10bn (US$7.9bn) in aid to stay afloat, more than double their estimate of three months ago.

        The request follows a worldwide pattern as the deepening crisis in the motor industry steps up pressure on governments to preserve jobs and sustain technology at carmakers and their parts suppliers.

        Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Germany's foreign minister, urged the creation of a European-wide aid plan for GM.

        His colleague, Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, economy minister, told Bild am Sonntag newspaper that he had set up a US-German working group on Opel, GM's German unit, with Timothy Geithner, US Treasury secretary.

       Opel is seeking at least €1.8bn (US$2.3bn) in German state guarantees by 2011 to stay in business and shield it from its Detroit parent's possible bankruptcy. GM has owned the carmaker since 1929 and employs more than 25,000 at four plants. German politicians are at odds over state help for Opel.

參考譯文：

       通用汽車(General Motors)和克萊斯勒(Chrysler)已告訴加拿大有關(guān)當(dāng)局，它們需要多達(dá)100億加元（合79億美元）的資金援助才能維持正常運(yùn)營——這個數(shù)字是它們3個月前估計(jì)的兩倍還要多。

       該請求追隨了一種全球模式：隨著汽車業(yè)危機(jī)日益加深，各國政府面臨了更大的壓力，以保護(hù)工作崗位和汽車制造商及其零部件供應(yīng)商的技術(shù)。

       德國外長弗蘭克-沃爾特?施泰因邁爾(Frank-Walter Steinmeier)敦促建立一個全歐洲范圍的通用汽車救助計(jì)劃。

       他的同事——德國經(jīng)濟(jì)部長卡爾-特奧多爾?楚?古滕貝格(Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg)向《星期日圖片報(bào)》(Bild am Sonntag)表示，他已經(jīng)與美國財(cái)長蒂莫西?蓋特納(Timothy Geithner)建立了一個歐寶(Opel)工作小組。歐寶是通用汽車的德國子公司。

       歐寶正尋求在2011前至少獲得18億歐元（合23億美元）德國政府擔(dān)保資金，以維持正常運(yùn)營，并保護(hù)其免受底特律母公司可能破產(chǎn)的影響。通用汽車自1929年開始擁有這家汽車制造商，在4家工廠雇用了逾2.5萬名員工。德國政界人士對政府救助歐寶意見不一。