Still, to stay afloat, GM will require about $30 billion in government money on top of about $20 billion already extended. The additional loans will make GM the second-largest recipient of bailout money, behind insurance giant American International Group, and will give the U.S. government a 60 percent ownership stake in the company. Obama administration officials said they don't expect to extend any more taxpayer money to GM.
"One never says never ...but this is it in respect to support for GM," said a senior administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the bankruptcy had not been filed.
Although the filing was expected, the fact that GM, of all companies, has been reduced to bankruptcy is a startling development.
The century-old automaker was for decades the very symbol of U.S. corporate power, selling about half the cars on the road in the U.S. in the 1950s and 1960s. Today, GM's U.S. market share has dropped below 20 percent as the Detroit company has steadily ceded ground to Japanese brands.
GM used to employ more than 500,000 workers; today fewer than 100,000 get their paychecks from the company affectionately known as "the General."
"This is a historic and important moment," said Ron Seeber, a vice provost at Cornell University and a specialist in labor and industrial history. "It's very, very significant and truly the last stage of the decline of the American auto industry."
Senior administration officials took pains Sunday to say the government intended to be "passive investors" with its 60 percent ownership stake in GM. The Canadian government will receive a 12 percent equity stake in exchange for providing $9.5 billion to GM.
The U.S. government "will only vote on core governance issues, including the selection of a company's board of directors and major corporate events or transactions," according to the White House.
"The government has no desire to own equity stakes in companies any longer than necessary, and will seek to dispose of its ownership interests as soon as practicable," the White House said.
One senior administration official added, "The government will not interfere with or exert control over day to day operations."
But the Obama administration forced out former Chief Executive Rick Wagoner this spring, replacing him with Henderson. And some lawmakers have raised concerns about government involvement in decisions about which GM plants to idle.
