After sharp loss, GM says auditors are considering its survival

DETROIT -- Chief Financial Officer Ray Young says a lot is riding on whether GM gets more government aid. GM has already received $13.4 billion, but is burning through billions each quarter. During the fourth quarter, the automaker went through $6.2 billion. The first quarter of 2009 is expected to be worse.

Young says GM expects to receive the "going concern" notice, which casts doubt on the future of the company. Many companies that get this notice soon file for bankruptcy court protection. If it comes, it will be in GM's 10-K filing, which is due at the beginning of March but will be posted late, Young says.

"It doesn't mean they are going out of business, but it means there is an elevated risk," says Efraim Levy, an analyst with Standard & Poor's.

The going concern statement protects the auditors by notifying investors that stock in the company is a risky bet, Levy says, and that the company could go out of business. But that could change, if the automaker were to receive government funding.

The company has received $13.4 billion in federal loans since Dec. 31 and says it needs up to $30 billion to stay out of bankruptcy. Top GM executives were in Washington, D.C., Thursday to meet with the Obama administration's auto task force to talk about restructuring and additional loans.

Global auto sales are weakening quickly, GM said.

"2008 was an extremely difficult year for the U.S. and global auto markets, especially the second half," Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner said. "These conditions created a very challenging environment for GM and other automakers and led us to take further aggressive and difficult measures to restructure our business."

GM reported a net loss of $15.71 a share for the fourth quarter, compared with a loss of $722 million, or $1.28 a share in the year-ago period.