Washington  - US President Barack Obama called on Chrysler LLC bondholders to make sacrifices in order to keep the nation's third largest automakers from filing for bankruptcy.

Obama, speaking at a town hall meeting in Arnold, Missouri, credited the autoworker unions for taking the necessary steps to help Chrysler avoid bankruptcy protection.

"One of the key questions now is: Are the bondholders, the lenders, the money people, are they willing to make sacrifices as well?" Obama said. "We don't know yet."

Chrysler has until Thursday to present a plan to prove its long- term viability, or risk losing 4.5 billion dollars it has received in emergency government loans. Chrysler is also working on a merger with Italian carmaker Fiat.

Chrysler is still waiting to hear from lenders about whether they will accept 2 billion dollars in cash in return for wiping out 6.9 billion dollars in debt. If the creditor reject the offer, Chrysler will be forced to file for bankruptcy.

Obama imposed Thursday's deadline on Chrysler to present restructuring plans to lose continued government financing.

The largest US automaker, General Motors, faces a similar deadline June 1. (dpa)