Ford says it welcomes emergency funding for rivals GM and Chrysler

Ford today announced that it welcomes action by the current Administration to provide emergency funding for General Motors and Chrysler.

“As we told Congress, Ford is in a different position. We do not face a near-term liquidity issue, and we are not seeking short-term financial assistance from the government,” Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally said in a statement. “But all of us at Ford appreciate the prudent step the Administration has taken to address the near-term liquidity issues of GM and Chrysler.”

Unlike GM and Chrysler who are looking for immediate assistance Ford has asked for access to a line of credit of up to $9 billion in bridge financing. The company has told Congress that it hopes and plans to complete transformation and restructuring without accessing a government loan. However, if GM and Chrysler fail, that could cause a lot of suppliers, that Ford frequently does business with, to go under.

“The U.S. auto industry is highly interdependent, and a failure of one of our competitors would have a ripple effect that could jeopardize millions of jobs and further damage the already weakened U.S. economy,” said Mulally.