GM Says It Could Run Out of Cash by March 31

General Motors is making the headlines once again, as it recently said it may run out of cash as soon as March 31 in case it doesn't receive the second loan payment from the US government. The $5.4 billion payment was set to be transferred on Friday but GM said it didn't receive the money. And more importantly, the US-based automaker warns that a new delay could cause even more financial problems given the fact that General Motors is already short of cash following the economical downturn experienced since late 2008.

Fritz Henderson, GM president and chief operating officer, said Tuesday that this second payment is critical for the restructuring plan forwarded to the government so, in case the money is not transferred by the end of March, the US automaker may run out of cash.

"It's critical that we receive it. If we don't get our second installment ... we'll run out of cash. We scheduled the time for the loans because we needed it when we needed it. Frankly it was a combination of us having to supply a great deal of documentation for us to support the second draw and they themselves had a lot of other priorities,” GM's president said according to the Detroit Free Press.

Chrysler has already received the remaining $1.5 billion from the US Department of Treasury last week but GM officials are confident that its share of the money should be transferred anytime in the near future. Meanwhile, Chrysler's representatives are pleased with the government assistance and explain that the recently-made payment will help them follow the initial restructuring plan proposed to the US Congress.

“We appreciate the Treasury Department’s support and their commitment to increase the availability of financing for consumers,” said Thomas F. Gilman, Vice Chairman and CEO – Chrysler Financial. “This funding will provide us with increased capacity to help Chrysler LLC and our dealers make new loans available to qualified consumers and sell more cars and trucks."