Be Afraid

What Would a G.M. Bankruptcy Look Like?

Experts hypothesize about the potential turmoil.

Bad news for G.M.: Yesterday, a Deutsche Bank analyst put a price target of zero on its stock. According to DealBook, when experts tried to imagine a G.M. bankruptcy three years ago, they failed due to the company’s largeness and complexity. Unsecured creditors, bondholders, labor unions, retirees, shareholders, and dealerships would all be involved. The biggest standoff would be with UAW workers, although bankruptcy would allow G.M. to reject its collective bargaining agreements with a judge’s approval. President-elect Obama is trying to avert this scenario by championing a bailout. Politico reports today that he would attach to it a point person who would oversee auto industry reforms.