General Motors Company was founded on September 16, 1908 as a holding company for Buick in Flint Michigan, at the time it was managed by William C Durant. General Motors Company is one of the world’s largest automakers and was established in 1908. General Motors has its headquarters in Detroit with approximately 235,000 employees located in all the main regions of the world. It also conducts business in about 140 countries. General Motors also known as GM, along with its strategic partners manufacture trucks and cars in about 34 countries and service and sell such vehicles through the following brands

• Buick
• Cadillac
• Chevrolet
• GMS
• GM Daewoo
• Holden
• Opel
• Vauxhall
• Wuling

The United States is the largest national market for GM, followed by China, Brazil, United Kingdom, Canada, Russia and Germany. On July 10, 2009, General Motors Company took control of General Motors Corporation. This acquisition took place because the company faced bankruptcy.

Since 2009, GM obtained loans from European governments and has subsequently condensed its ownership stake in European operations as part of its reorganization exercise. By July 10th of this year the newly formed GM possesses over forty billion dollars in cash ($40b). The company’s reorganized liability total is $48.8 billion which also includes $24.4 billion which will be made payable to the Voluntary Employee Benefits Association (VEBA) trust, $9 billion to the United States and Canadian governments, and $15 billion in liabilities to suppliers and other bills. In December 2009 GM is expected to pay over $10 billion to the VEBA trust with incremental payments being made from 2012 to 2019. GM has up until 2013 to make contributions to its pension fund although it can make contributions before then if it so desires.