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Shreveport Mayor Cedric Glover is heading to Washington, D.C. to lobby along with governors and other mayors for a federal bailout of the country's faltering auto industry.
General Motors, Ford and Chrysler are asking for help to keep them out of bankruptcy. GM's truck- and SUV-assembly plant in Shreveport has eliminated one of its shifts and laid off hundreds of employees while other took early retirement.
Congress is debating the bailout plan in this week's post-election session. Democratic leaders want to use $25 billion of the $700 billion financial industry bailout to help the U.S. automakers.
Opponents say the auto industry's problems are self inflicted and a government bailout will only postpone their demise. Stronger companies will take their places if they fail, bailout opponents say.
Glover says GM is vital to Shreveport's economy as it works to adapt to a changing consumer market.
"We're talking about a matter of weeks at this particular point in time to come up with something that will allow us to keep this local operation going," Glover said, not providing specifics about where he got that timetable.
Cash-strapped GM said today it will delay reimbursing its dealers for rebates and other incentives later this month, an indication the company is starting to have cash-flow problems. GM has said it could reach the minimum amount of cash needed to run the company before the end of the year.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
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