DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Corp posted a loss of nearly $31 billion on Thursday for 2008 and said its auditors were likely to cast doubt on its viability as it seeks an expanded federal bailout to stay afloat.
Revenue plunged by more than a third to $30.8 billion. GM burned through more than $5 billion in the fourth quarter and ended the year with $14 billion in cash, including the first $4 billion in loans it received from the U.S. Treasury.
The automaker, which asked for up to $30 billion of U.S. government aid, also warned its pension plans were underfunded by about $12.4 billion as of the end of 2008, raising the risk of a greater funding gap in the years ahead.
GM's loss was the deepest among Detroit-based automakers in 2008 as industry-wide auto sales dropped to 16-year lows. Ford lost $14.6 billion. Chrysler, controlled by private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, lost $8 billion.
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 autos task force headed by U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and White House economic adviser Larry Summers.
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