50,000 jobs to go as carmakers beg for billions

America’s sinking car industry has told the government it needed even more help to survive than originally thought.

General Motors and Chrysler’s request for US government aid ballooned to a staggering $39bn (€30.9bn) today – only months after receiving billions in loans.

And the car makers revealed shock new plans for massive job losses and intense restructuring to survive the deepening recession.