It is expected that today will be the day a new General Motors emerges from bankruptcy. Pursuant to an Order by the Bankruptcy Court, today is the effective date for the Old GM to sell its good assets to the new GM. Formerly known as General Motors Corp, the new company will have a slightly different name "General Motors Co." and be primarily government owned. The new GM will be shared by the U.S. Treasury Department (60.8%), UAW retiree medical benefits trust (17.5%), Canadian and Ontario governments (11.7%) and shareholders of the old GM (10%). The US and Canadian governments have not yet stated their plans for the stock.

Although a New GM will emerge, the bleeding of jobs is expected to continue. The new company is expected to include around half old GM’s original brands and cut more than 6,000 salaried jobs and idle numerous manufacturing plants. Management will not be exempt from the cutbacks as reports indicate top management could be cut by more than a third. Hopefully the cuts to management will speed up the decision making process and allow the once lumbering giant to timely react to changes in the market. More details on the new GM and its plans are expected later this morning.

- Richard V. Stokan, Jr.