General Motors Corp has detailed a plan to slash costs at Chrysler LLC butinitial attempts to secure financing for the controversialmerger have been rebuffed, raising new doubts about whether itcan be completed without government aid.



GM Chief Operating Officer Fritz Henderson and theexecutive team leading talks with Chrysler's majority ownerCerberus Capital Management believe GM can strike adeal to pick up Chrysler's most valuable assets and shore upits own cash position in the process, according to peoplefamiliar with the talks who were not authorized to discuss thenegotiations.



But an acquisition would be expensive, and findingfinancing in current markets for a merger between companiesthat have been losing billions and burning through cash rapidlyis proving to be a tall order.



Chrysler has $9 billion in debt that, under a change ofcontrol, would have to be paid off if it cannot be refinanced.



Additionally, a cash-strapped GM needs between $4 billionand $5 billion for payouts for the estimated 30,000 to 40,000jobs that would be cut through a merger and to close most ofChrysler's 14 assembly plants, the sources said.



To put that additional funding in perspective, GM's marketcapitalization was only $3.7 billion as of Monday.



GM had about $21 billion in cash at the end of the secondquarter, but it was burning through more than $1 billion amonth. The automaker has counted on its ability to raise up to$5 billion through a combination of borrowing and asset salesto make it through 2009, but the recent churn in credit marketshas threatened that goal, analysts say.