For General Motors Corp., the task at hand is so difficult that experts say a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing is all but inevitable.

To remake itself outside of court, GM must persuade bondholders to swap $27 billion in debt for 10 percent of its risky stock. On top of that, the automaker must work out deals with its union, announce factory closures, cut or sell brands and force hundreds of dealers out of business — all in three weeks.
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UAW AND FORD REACH TENTATIVE AGREEMENT ON FUTURE FUNDING OF THE VEBA HEALTH CARE TRUST

Editor’s Note: The following statement is attributable to Joe Hinrichs, group vice president, Global Manufacturing and Labor Affairs, Ford Motor Company.

Dearborn, Mich., Feb. 23 – The United Auto Workers union and Ford Motor Company have reached a tentative agreement on modifications to the Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association (VEBA) retiree health care trust.
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General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC are seeking additional financial aid from the Canadian and Ontario governments, and GM Canada wants to create a union-run fund to reduce its health care costs in the country.

The automakers’ needs were outlined in restructuring plans they submitted late Friday in the latest example of Detroit’s hardest-hit automakers taking their pleas for help abroad as the global industry downturn ravages their foreign operations.
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