Money Crashers
July 1, 2009
General Motors GM Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Timeline & Future Lessons
General Motors grew from a small company in 1908 into a corporate giant within a couple of decades. For years, people believed that GM was too big to ever go away. Investors had a lot of confidence in the company and many employees invested their life savings into it.
Everyone realized the mistake they’d made with this assumption when, in 2009, the company officially declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Even amidst one of the worst recessions in United States history, no one would have expected General Motors to face financial failure.
Fortunately, the company was reorganized and given a second chance. If it faced Chapter 7 bankruptcy instead, GM would have been completely dissolved. That would have cost investors billions and over 200,000 employees would have lost their jobs.
So, what leads such a steadfast, household name to file bankruptcy, and what does the future hold? Read on to find out the history, causes, and where things go from here.
Hummer H2