GM posts $6B first quarter loss

DETROIT, May 7 (UPI) -- General Motors Corp. said it lost $6 billion in the first quarter on a revenue drop of 47 percent as a slump in auto sales continued.

The largest U.S. carmaker said it burned through $10.2 billion in cash in the first three months of the year, The Detroit News reported Thursday.

The cash depletion was offset by $15.4 billion in government loans. By the end of the quarter, GM had $11.6 billion left in capital reserves, down from $14.2 billion at the end of the quarter a year ago, the newspaper said.

"Our first quarter results underscore the importance of executing GM's revised viability plan, which goes further and faster to lower our break-even point," GM President and Chief Executive Officer Fritz Henderson said in a statement.

"Our plan is designed to fix the fundamentals of our business by restructuring and deleveraging our balance sheet, enhancing our revenue capability and dramatically reducing costs," he said.

GM plans to eliminate 21,000 hourly positions by the end of the year, a third more than previously announced. Factory closings would number 16 by 2012, out of a total of 47 plants it currently operates in the United States.