The Launch of “New” GM to be Announced Today

General Motors executives will announce the launch of "the new General Motors", after the nation's largest automaker was cleared yesterday to emerge from bankruptcy.

Photo: The Launch of “New” GM to be Announced Today

The sale of the company's assets to a new corporation owned largely by the United States, Canada and the United Auto Workers' retiree health fund had been approved by a judge on Sunday. But the order did not go into effect until yesterday, The Washington Post reports.

At a 9 a.m. press conference Friday, CEO Fritz Henderson will announce that GM will cut another 4,000 white-collar jobs, including 450 top executives. The company still employs 88,000 people in the U.S. and 235,000 worldwide.

Henderson also is expected to describe how GM will streamline its bureaucratic management structure to become profitable again. GM has said it will be able to make money even if the U.S. auto market stays at a depressed level of 10 million to 10.5 million vehicles sold, The Associated Press reports.

The new company will include the Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC Brands, along with its overseas operations. About 4,100 of its 6,000 U.S. dealerships will remain with the new company, although there will be a slow wind down over the next 14 months of the dealerships that GM plans to shed as part of this process. The company will also have only a fraction of the $54 billion in unsecured debt it had heading into bankruptcy.

Other holdings, contracts and liabilities that GM wanted to shed as part of the bankruptcy process will be held by the old company, now to be known as Motors Liquidation Co. (GMGMQ), CNNMoney.com reports.