Toyota exec says automaker ready for GM bankruptcy

The world's largest automakers are intertwined in a myriad of ways and they need to watch their competitors in both good times and bad. When talk of a GM bankruptcy was first floated, the discussion of the effects naturally led to GM's suppliers. That discussion then led to what the effects would be on other car companies if a swath of suppliers was suddenly pulled under, and both Ford and Toyota indicated they would be adversely affected by a GM's fall.

Now the president of Toyota Motor Sales USA, Jim Lentz, has said that the automaker can handle a GM bankruptcy. Although GM and Toyota share roughly 330 suppliers, Lentz says "only a small number... are critically short on cash," without giving any indication of how many shared suppliers are included in that assessment. Even for those that might be in trouble, the $5 billion Supplier Support Program should further minimize the number of losses among them.

[Source: Detroit News | Image: Bill Pugliano/Getty]