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General Motors Corp., the automaker that may run out of money without government aid, didn’t renew its sponsorship with the New York Yankees and is negotiating a new contract with the New York Mets.

“We still want a presence in New York and we can’t do both,” GM Northeast region spokeswoman Andrea Canabal said in a telephone interview. “We are looking at what we can do to save some costs.”

Both the Yankees and Mets are moving into new stadiums next season after drawing the most fans in Major League Baseball this year. GM had three-year contracts with both teams that expired in November, said spokesman Terry Rhadigan. GM declined to disclose terms of the agreements.

Lonn Trost, Yankees chief operating officer, and Dave Howard, Mets executive vice president for business, didn’t immediately return messages for comment.

Baseball teams are losing sponsors amid a recession that is causing companies and consumers to curb spending. Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz pulled out of its deal with the Milwaukee Brewers, Deutsche Post AG’s DHL unit is seeking to end its agreement with the Atlanta Braves, and GM chose not to renew with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

GM will continue to honor deals with the Chicago Cubs and White Sox, Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers, Texas Rangers and Philadelphia Phillies, Rhadigan said. The company is negotiating with an unidentified number of clubs, he said.

More sports teams, though, could have their deals with the automaker lapse as it cuts costs.

“Once the contracts end, we will probably stop some sponsorships across the board for some savings,” Canabal said.

General Motors and Chrysler LLC have said they may run out of cash early next year without a $14 billion bailout. The Bush Administration is examining using funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program earmarked for the financial industry to help the automakers after the Senate failed to pass an assistance bill.

(Source: Bloomberg)