DETROIT — A list of job cuts, shuttered factories, canceled bonuses and commitments to fuel-efficient cars won’t be enough next week when U.S. automakers get another shot to persuade Congress to give them $25 billion in loans.
Through this weekend, teams will tag more meat to throw at lawmakers who vilified the automakers’ top executives the last time they went to Washington. That means executive pay cuts, union concessions, and perhaps even higher fuel economy requirements and a glimpse at top-secret product plans.
At General Motors, the largest of the Detroit Three and probably the most needy, teams are preparing a detailed plan, first for GM’s board on Monday, then for delivery to Congress by a deadline the next day. The House Financial Services Committee plans to hear testimony on the loan requests Dec. 5.
People with knowledge of the plans being built by GM and Chrysler say they will contain more than just details of past restructuring. At GM, the company has slashed production and cut its U.S. payroll from 177,000 eight years ago to 104,000. Chrysler LLC’s worldwide workforce has been slashed from 123,180 10 years ago to about 66,000 today.
