The Interim Chairman of General Motors Corp Kent Krasa joined Chief Executive Officer Fritz Henderson today in stating his hope for a stronger, leaner company to emerge from the bankruptcy process which the company entered today but the chairman also added a note of regret in announcing the decision.


The company expects to be in bankruptcy for up to three months where a court supervised process is expected to reduce the company’s debt by billions of dollars. In addition, the firm will reduce the number of brands it sells.

“The General Motors Board of Directors authorized the filing of a chapter 11 case with regret that this path proved necessary despite the best efforts of so many, Kresa said in a released statement

Today marks a new beginning for General Motors. A court-supervised process and transfer of assets will enable a New GM to emerge as a stronger, healthier, more focused and nimbler company with a determination not to just survive but to excel. The Board concluded that the proposed transformation will maximize the value of the enterprise, and the return to the many stakeholders who have been involved with GM over the years,” Kresa added.

In a separate press release, Henderson said today was a “defining moment in the reinvention of GM as a leaner, more customer-focused, and more cost-competitive company that above all, can quickly generate winning bottom line results.”

We recognize the sacrifices that so many have been asked to make as we have worked to reinvent GM and the automobile, he added.

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