GM rolls on rough road as it nears 100th birthday

As GM celebrates its 100th anniversary Tuesday, the company that was once the nation's largest employer faces a crisis like no other in its storied history. GM has lost $57.5 billion in the past 18 months, including $15.5 billion in the second quarter. It's burning more than $1 billion a month in cash, has more than $32 billion in long-term debt, and a slumping U.S. market has forced it to close factories and shed workers.
In July, it suspended its dividend for the first time in 86 years, and the company has been in perpetual restructuring since at least 2002. "We've seen them down further than what they are, and they got back up," said Ezell, 63, who passed up several early retirement offers to keep working at a factory near Pontiac that makes the Chevrolet Malibu and Pontiac G6 midsize sedans. "I believe in GM. There's no doubt in my mind." Yet industry analysts wonder whether GM can make it if the U.S. economy stays in a funk and consumers continue to shun trucks and sport utility vehicles for small, fuel-efficient cars. One analyst even mentioned bankruptcy protection for the company that developed the first fully automatic transmission, the first V-8 engine, and the first hydrogen fuel cell .
While it's shrinking in North America, GM's global sales are up 19 percent in the past decade with large increases in emerging markets such as China, Russia, India and Brazil. It's also spending heavily to become a leader in new technologies, including the Chevrolet Volt electric car due out in 2010.