Chrysler: Auto Plants in Canada Depend on Bailout

(The Canadian Press)

The Globe and Mail says Chrysler Canada Inc. is turning up the heat on the federal and Ontario governments in its quest for financial help.

The newspaper reports the automaker is warning that it could close its two assembly plants in Canada if the two governments fail to provide $1.6-billion in emergency aid.

The work at the plants could then be transferred to the U-S, with the total loss of 8,000 direct jobs in the Ontario communities of Windsor and Brampton.

The Globe says Chrysler spells out the grim prospects for its Canadian operations in its restructuring proposal filed with government officials last week.

Together, the Canadian operations of Chrysler, Ford and General Motors are seeking a $6-billion lifeline from Ottawa and Ontario.

U-S lawmakers reached a deal yesterday that would give their Detroit-based parent companies a $15-billion aid package, though terms of the proposed pact are still being worked out.

Government and industry sources in Canada have worried that the U-S government will attach strings to its final aid package that, in the absence of Canadian assistance, would favour the companies’ operations south of the border.