General Motors Corp. posted a $9.6 billion fourth-quarter loss and says it burned through $6.2 billion of cash in the last three months of 2008 as it fought the worst U.S. auto sales climate since 1982 and sought government loans to keep the century-old company running.
The nation’s biggest domestic automaker says it lost $30.9 billion for the full year and expects to state in its upcoming annual report whether its auditors believe the company remains a “going concern.” GM and its auditors must determine whether there is substantial doubt about the automaker’s ability to continue it operations.
Chief Financial Officer Ray Young said the determination will depend a lot on whether GM gets further government loans and whether it can accomplish its restructuring goals. Young said that auditors are studying the future of the company because “there’s uncertainty with how the Treasury will view our viability plan,” and “uncertainty on whether we’re going to be able to execute the terms of our loan agreement.”
The company has received $13.4 billion in federal loans since Dec. 31 and says it needs up to $30 billion to stay out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Top GM executives were in Washington, D.C., today to meet with the Obama administration’s auto task force to talk about restructuring and additional loans.
