President Barack Obama
GM CEO Rick Wagoner had effectively been fired by President Barack Obama when the government took a substantial equity stake in GM and organized bankruptcy financing. A succession of CEOs followed: Fritz Henderson, Ed Whitacre, and Dan Akerson. (The carmaker had just 10 CEOs before the financial crisis.)

What caused GM to go bankrupt?

The problem for GM was that when the sales slowed down, they had trouble cutting costs because most of their costs were fixed. Company pensions and legacy health care costs were fixed as well. So when sales went down, many costs stayed fairly constant. And that led to losses.

Does the US government own GM?

Like any public company with a stock offering, General Motors is owned by shareholders. In the past, the U.S. government was a majority shareholder in the company (after the 2008 bailouts). Today, the top three individual GM shareholders are Mary Barra, Mark Reuss and Dan Ammann.

When did old GM stock became worthless?

June 1, 2009
The old GM stock stopped trading on the New York Stock Exchange on June 1, 2009, the day that GM filed for bankruptcy. Each share of GM stock became a share in Motors Liquidation. While it was widely reported that the shares were worthless, those shares still traded, then and now, over the counter.

Did the US government lose money on the GM bailout?

The U.S. government lost $11.2 billion on its bailout of General Motors, according to a 2014 government report. The government invested about $50 billion to bail out GM as a result of the company’s 2009 bankruptcy, and at one time held a 61 percent equity stake in the Detroit-based automaker.

When did General Motors and Chrysler file for bankruptcy?

Chrysler filed for bankruptcy April 30, and the judge in that case approved the creation of a new company that will be run by Italian automaker Fiat in a ruling Sunday. GM, being a larger, more complicated and global company than Chrysler, is not expected to have its valuable units exit bankruptcy quite as quickly, though.

What are the names of the car companies that are in bankruptcy?

Based in Detroit, the 101-year-old company is a stalwart of the US manufacturing base, producing vehicles with brands such as Chevrolet, Cadillac, Hummer, Opel and Vauxhall. Its filing comes a month after its smaller rival Chrysler declared bankruptcy, leaving two of the top three American motor manufacturers under court protection.

How long will it take for GM to emerge from bankruptcy?

GM will continue to manufacture and sell cars under bankruptcy and the US government is hoping for a swift, “surgical” process under which the company will emerge in smaller, streamlined form within 60 to 90 days. Obama said the massive reorganisation of GM would leave the US government holding 60% of the company’s equity.

When did the pizza chain file for bankruptcy?

Here are some of the most prominent companies to file for bankruptcy since mid-March of last year, including the popular pizza joint that filed at the end of January. Related: These Companies That Filed for Bankruptcy Also Awarded Their CEOs Huge Bonuses How Rich Are These Top CEOs?.