Safe you Finance

General Motors Corp posted a nearly $31 billion loss on Thursday for 2008 and said its auditors were likely to cast doubt on its ability its viability as it seeks an expanded federal bailout to stay afloat.

GM, which asked for up to $30 billion of U.S. government aid, posted losses in all of its major units during the fourth quarter and it burned through $6.2 billion of cash. Revenue plunged by more than a third.

The automaker also warned its pension plans for hourly and salaried workers were underfunded by about $12.4 billion as of the end of 2008, raising the risk of an even greater funding gap in the years ahead.

The release of the grim results came on the same day that GM Chief Executive Rick Wagoner and other senior executives were scheduled to meet with members of the task force headed by U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and White House economic adviser Larry Summers.

“They are in fact-gathering mode right now, and so we are here in order to respond to their questions,” GM Chief Financial Officer Ray Young told reporters.

“This is not a negotiation session by any means, they are going to continue to gather facts and continue to ask for clarifications in terms of our submissions,” he said.

Shares of GM dropped 8 percent in pre-market trade to $2 online payday advance.35.

GM said it could receive a “going concern” notice from auditors when it files its annual report for 2008 with U.S. securities regulators by the middle of March.

The company, which took $6 billion in charges to shut down North American plants as sales tumbled last year, posted a net loss of $30.9 billion for 2008.

That marks the second-largest loss for the 100-year-old automaker behind only the $38.7 billion loss for 2007. GM has lost $82 billion over the past four years and cut 92,000 jobs over that period.

GM ended December with $14 billion in cash and including the first $4 billion in loans received from the U.S. Treasury. It received another $9.4 billion in aid in the current quarter.

GM’s fourth-quarter net loss widened to $9.6 billion from $722 million.

Excluding $3.7 billion in one-time charges, GM posted a quarterly loss of $9.65 cents per share. Analysts surveyed by Reuters Estimates had forecast a loss per share of $7.40 on that adjusted basis.

Revenue fell to $30.8 billion from $46.8 billion.

‘CONTAGION’ EFFECT 

Read more