Corrects quote in paragraph 12 to read "we are not alone in this" instead of "we are not along in this"
By Gilles Castonguay and Kevin Krolicki
MILAN/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Global automakers axed more output and investment on Monday and Italy's Fiat said its days of independence were numbered as policymakers prepared a rescue plan for the big three U.S. manufacturers.
The industry faces an uncertain future as tight credit conditions and deepening consumer uncertainty cripple sales.
Ford said it would halt Russian output for a month from December 24 and Daimler said its main plant would adopt a shorter working week for three months from January 12.
General Motors used a newspaper advert to apologise to U.S. consumers for its failures and a top company official called the need for cash for itself, Ford and Chrysler was "urgent."
"We have an extremely urgent need for this money because we are definitely running out of liquidity and frankly, at this point I don't think we're very choosy as to exactly which budget line item it comes out of," GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said on
CNBC.
"All parties, all stakeholders are going to have to give something, otherwise this isn't going to work."
In Japan, Toyota, the world's biggest manufacturer, was said to be eying spending cuts of up to 40 percent.
Slovakian data showed that the assembly plants of several large producers there were reducing output, and analysts said a sharp fall in German industrial output was heavily influenced by falling car production.
Sweden was reported to be mulling a rescue package for Ford unit Volvo Cars and for GM's Saab.
Fiat's chief executive Sergio Marchionne was quoted as saying over the weekend that only six big players would be left in the world after a phase of consolidation, which he expects to start next year.
And in an interview published on Monday, he said any manufacturer making less than 5.5-6.0 million cars was doomed unless they were willing to merge with others in the industry.
"Fiat is not even halfway there," he told Automotive News. "And we are not alone in this. So we need to aggregate, one way or another.
Car parts manufacturer Wagon added to the sector gloom, saying it had called in administrators after talks over future funding broke down.
In Frankfurt, German magazine Focus said India's Tata Motors was mulling closer cooperation with Daimler.
(Additional reporting by Soyoung Kim; Writing by Marcel Michelson and Helen Massy-Beresford and John Stonestreet; Editing by Andrew Callus)
