Chrysler CEO Urges Employees To Cut Costs After Loan Defeat

Chrysler Chief Executive Bob Nardelli Friday implored employees to do all they can to save money to keep the company afloat while it lobbies the Bush Administration for emergency loans.

In an e-mail to workers, Nardelli expressed disappointment that a measure to extend $14 billion in low-interest loans to Chrysler and General Motors Corp. (GM) was blocked by the Senate Thursday. He said the company is in talks with the White House and U.S. Treasury over giving the auto makers access to funds allocated under the $700 billion Troubled Assets Relief Program for financial institutions.

"We will continue to make our case in Washington that an immediate, short-term bridge loan is critical for Chrysler to survive the current financial crisis and is just as important to the health of the overall American economy," Nardelli wrote in the e-mail. "While a bridge loan is critical to manage through this financial crisis, we must continue to manage the factors under our control."

Nardelli said Chrysler also is talking to the administration of President-elect Barack Obama over the industry's long-term needs.

"Key members of the incoming administration are aware of the importance of addressing the short-term and long-term viability of our industry and our company," he wrote.

Nardelli said he is encouraged by a statement from the White House Friday that Bush would consider tapping TARP funding to rescue the auto makers, which have said they will run out of cash by the end of the year without government intervention.

-By Sharon Terlep, Dow Jones Newswires; 248-204-5532; [e-mail].

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