Chrysler gets $4bn emergency loan

Chrysler's problems have put thousands of US jobs at risk

The huge American carmaker Chrysler has received a $4bn (£2.75bn) emergency loan from the US government in a deal to help it stave off collapse.

It is part of a $13.4bn rescue package approved last month by Washington for Chrysler and its rival General Motors.

Both companies said they needed the money to pay suppliers at a time of plunging sales and credit concerns.

They were promised bail-out funds on condition that they restructure and prove their viability by 31 March.

"This initial loan will allow the company to continue an orderly restructuring," Chrysler Chief Executive Bob Nardelli said in a statement.

GM, America's largest car manufacturer, received its first $4bn loan earlier this week and is to receive an additional $5.4bn later this month.

The US Treasury has also provided a rescue package for GMAC - General Motors' troubled car loan arm, which is co-owned by Chrysler's owner, Cerberus Capital Management.

Correspondents say that when the major US carmakers release results next week, they are expected to show that sales for December fell to the lowest full-year level since 1992.