General Motors Bankrupt?

General Motors Corporation (GM) a global automaker founded in 1908 with headquarters in Detroit, Michigan, U.S. is the world’s second-largest automaker after Toyota, ranked by 2008 global unit sales.

General Motors the largest manufacturer on the verge of bankruptcy, filed for court protection with a government-financed plan intended to create a possible company that can compete in world markets.

The U.S. government will extend $50 billion of loans to the 100-year-old automaker and plans to convert that into a 60 percent stake in the reorganized company, according to a filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York. GM today missed a deadline to show that it could reorganize outside of court and reported debt of $172.8 billion, more than twice its assets.

“GM and its stakeholders have produced a viable, achievable plan that will give this iconic American company a chance to rise again,” U.S. President Barack Obama said today.

Quoting sources familiar with the discussions, The Washington Post also reported today that

“The Obama administration is preparing to send General Motors into bankruptcy as early as the end of next week under a plan that would give the automaker tens of billions of dollars more in public financing as the company seeks to shrink and reemerge as a global competitor”

Attributing to a source, The Washington Post said under the GM draft bankruptcy plan, the company would receive just short of USD 30 billion in additional federal loans. 

GM was the global sales leader for 77 consecutive calendar years from 1931 to 2007.

It manufactures cars and trucks in 34 countries.

GM employs 244,500 people around the world, and sells and services vehicles in some 140 countries.

In 2008, 8.35 million GM cars and trucks were sold globally under different brands. Some of the most popular brands of General motors include Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, Hummer, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn, Vauxhall and Wuling.

The court will supervise the sale or liquidation of unprofitable brands, such as Saturn and Hummer, and at least 11 unwanted factories.