U.S. Govt Will Pony Up Another $30 Billion for a Smaller GM

It’s being reported that GM’s bankruptcy filing will occur Monday morning at 8 o’clock.  MarketWatch says tonight that the feds will support the company with $30 billion through a 60 to 90 day bankruptcy period.

What I found most interesting in tonight’s story at MarketWatch was this:

As a result of this restructuring, GM will lower its break-even point to sales of 10 million cars per year. Before the restructuring, GM needed to sell about 16 million car sales a year to turn a profit.

The way I read that, GM is either downsizing by about half or cutting its costs by about that much.  When you hear all the millions and billions roiling around this story, you sometimes lose the scale of things.  Ten million cars per year to break even versus 16 million is a number I understand.

Of course, GM is downsizing and cutting costs.  But that number brings it home — GM, for the time being will be a smaller footprint on the trail of the U.S. economy.  What’s to become of that old saw, “As GM goes, so goes the nation?”