U.S. says will stand behind GM during restructuring

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration said on Friday it would stand behind General Motors Corp during the remainder of its restructuring.

The Treasury Department said in a statement that the government's autos task force continues to work with GM and "all its stakeholders" as it seeks to restructure ahead of a June 1 deadline to restructure its debt, cement concessions with its union and show it can be viable.

GM has said it expects to file for bankruptcy if its restructuring efforts fail by the deadline.

The Treasury statement came in response to GM's announcement earlier in the day that it plans to eliminate up to 1,200 U.S. dealerships. Chrysler said on Thursday it plans to cut 789 showrooms.

"As difficult as these announcements are for the dealers that will no longer be selling GM and Chrysler cars and the communiteis in which they operate, without (President Barack Obama's) intervention the entire GM and Chrysler dealer networks could have been lost," the Treasury said in a statement.

The agency said the administration's autos task force was not involved in decision-making on GM or Chrysler dealer terminations.

The administration would continue to work to help ensure that financing is available to "creditworthy" dealers and help boost demand for cars, the Treasury said.

(Reporting by John Crawley; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)