UPDATE 1-White House team meets GM to speed restructuring

(Adds details on meeting, background)
WASHINGTON, April 8 (Reuters) - The White House task force
charged with retooling the U.S. auto industry is meeting with
General Motors officials to accelerate its restructuring
process, an administration official said on Wednesday.
The meeting comes after President Barack Obama's
administration last week gave GM 60 days to develop a more
sweeping restructuring plan and ousted its then-chief
executive, Rick Wagoner.
"The goal is to accelerate the process that the President
laid out last Monday," the official said of the task force's
meeting with GM.
"They will be in Detroit through the end of the week and
will be returning next week as well."
The beleaguered auto giant, which has operated on $13.4
billion in government loans since the start of the year, was in
"earnest" preparations for a possible bankruptcy, one source
said this week.
The White House official said a group of 15 arrived in
Detroit on Wednesday to "continue the process of business
diligence with GM's new team."
The White House's team included an official from the
Treasury Department, Harry Wilson, and experts from the Boston
Consulting Group and Rothschild.
A GM spokesman indicated the meeting was not unusual.
"They've been working together with us since the taskforce
was created," Kerry Christopher said.
"GM was given 60 days to restructure so a lot of things
need to take place over the next two months."
Meanwhile the White House said Ed Montgomery, who is
spearheading efforts to help communities suffering from the
auto industry's downturn, will visit Ohio on Thursday to
"discuss the President's support of a strong American auto
industry and the President's Auto Task Force initiative to
support and revitalize auto industry workers and communities."
(Reporting by Jeff Mason, Editing by Sandra Maler)
((jeff.mason@reuters.com; + 1 202 898 8454; Reuters
Messaging: jeff.mason.reuters.com@reuters.net))
Keywords: AUTOS/OBAMA

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