New York City - The options for survival for US automotive giants General Motors and Chrysler are limited to bankruptcy protection, merger or a receipt of aid from the US government, the Wall Street Journal said Monday.

Citing sources inside GM and Chrysler, the respected financial daily said the two companies which are currently in merger negotiations would as a combined entity need around 10 billion dollars to continue operations, and may require government aid in any case.

GM and Chrysler together employ around 166,000 people at more than 110 plants in North America, and could see more than 40,000 jobs lost in a merger, the Wall Street Journal reported, again citing sources within the companies.

According to the report, current merger talks centre around GM leading the merged entity and continuing the release of popular Chrysler models.

Both companies are suffering heavy losses as well as a lack of access to cash due to the global credit crunch.

Although both have repeated statements rejecting bankruptcy as an option, insolvency rumours continue to circulate as both firms hemorrhage cash - estimates have GM spending one billion dollars monthly, with Chrysler seeing between 300-400 million dollars per month out the door. (dpa)