Iconic US auto giant GM declares bankruptcy

• Source: xinhua
• [21:44 June 01 2009]
• Comments

In the largest industrial bankruptcy ever seen in US history, General Motors Corp., the top US automaker and once the world's largest corporation, filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday.

The logo of General Motors Corp. (GM) is seen outside the GM headquarters in Detroit, the United States, May 29, 2009. The largest US automaker, General Motors Corp., officially filed for bankruptcy protection at 8 am EDT (1200 GMT) on Monday, the largest bankruptcy protection case in the US industrial history. (Xinhua/Gu Xinrong)

The Detroit-based company, for decades a symbol of American manufacturing supremacy, corporate culture and even lifestyle, filed a Chapter 11 petition to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

The collapse of the century-old auto giant came at a time when the United States is experiencing the worst economic recession since the Great Depression. Just a month ago, Chrysler LLC, the country's third largest automaker, took the same path.

The logo of General Motors Corp. (GM) is seen in front of the GM headquarters in Detroit, the United States, April 15, 2009. The largest US automaker, General Motors Corp., officially filed for bankruptcy protection at 8 am EDT (1200 GMT) Monday, the largest bankruptcy protection case in the US industrial history. (Xinhua/Gu Xinrong)