Insolvent US carmaker Chrysler LLC plans to cut ties with nearly one quarter of its dealerships, dpa cited documents as filing in a New York bankruptcy court today. While Ford Motor Co, the only US carmaker not to receive government assistance, said at a stockholders' meeting on Thursday that it hopes return to profitability by 2011. Chrysler wants to reject contracts with 789 of its nearly 3,200 outlets in its latest effort to cut costs and make the company profitable once again. Having declared bankruptcy at the start of the month, the third- largest carmaker hopes to quickly restructure its operations, settle with its creditors, and come out the other side in an alliance with Italy's Fiat Spa. With help from the US government, Chrysler plans to emerge from bankruptcy by the end of June. Fiat will hold a stake of as much as 35 per cent and take over management of the company. General Motors Corp, which is also likely to face bankruptcy by the end of this month, is expected to cut ties with about one third of its 6,000 dealers in the coming days. Ford, the second-largest US carmaker, will continue to operate without government money, board president Bill Ford said at the shareholders' meeting in Wilmington, Delaware. Instead, the company has issued more shares to raise funds, with the most recent offering bringing in 1.6 billion dollars. Ford lost 1.4 billion dollars in the first quarter and is a total of 30 billion dollars in the red over the last three years.
