By AP
NEW YORK (AP) – NEW YORK (AP) - General Motors has filed for bankruptcy protection as part of an Obama administration plan to shrink the automaker to a sustainable size and give a majority ownership stake to the federal government.
The fallen icon of American industrial might filed its Chapter 11 petition in New York on Monday. It marks the fourth-largest bankruptcy in U.S. history and the largest for an industrial company.
GM's reorganization plan will rely on up to $30 billion of additional financial assistance from the Treasury Department.
That's on top of the $19.4 billion in taxpayer money GM already has received in the form of low-interest loans.
WKAR AM 870 will carry NPR's full coverage of President Obama's announcement on GM's bankruptcy beginning at 11:40 a.m. today. WKAR 90.5 FM will carry the President's speech also beginning at about 11:55 a.m.