FACTBOX-Key facts about General Motors

May 29 - General Motors Corp is heading toward bankruptcy after wrapping up a deal with the United Auto Workers union and a new debt exchange offer to its bondholders.

A filing by the No. 1 U.S. automaker would rank as the third-largest bankruptcy in U.S. history and one of the largest and most complex manufacturing bankruptcies ever.

Founded in 1908, GM has been kept in operation with $19.4 billion in U.S. government loans this year.

A total of $60 billion in government investment is on the way as the automaker heads toward an effective nationalization.

Here are several key facts about Detroit-based GM:

* FINANCIALS: GM lost $31 billion in 2008, taking its total losses to $82 billion in the past four years. It sold 8.3 million vehicles worldwide in 2008, down from 9.37 million a year earlier.

GM lost its ranking as the top global automaker by vehicle sales for the first time in 2008 when it was outsold by Toyota Motor Corp.

Based on end-March assets of $82 billion, a GM bankruptcy would rank as the third-largest in U.S. history. By comparison, Lehman Brothers had assets of $691 billion and WorldCom had $104 billion when they entered Chapter 11.

* BRANDS/KEY VEHICLES: GM's brands include Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, GMC, Saab, Saturn, Hummer and Pontiac. GM is in talks to sell Saab, Saturn and Hummer in 2009 and plans to drop Pontiac by the end of 2010. It is focusing on its remaining four brands, which represent 83 percent of sales.

Top-selling vehicles include the Chevy Silverado pickup truck, the Chevy Malibu and Chevy Impala sedans, the Cadillac CTS luxury sedan and the GMC Sierra pickup truck.

* EMPLOYEES/RETIREES: GM had 243,000 employees as of December 2008 -- 170,000 hourly and 73,000 salaried. About 54,000 workers are U.S. factory workers represented by the United Auto Workers union.

In the United States, GM had 384,000 hourly retirees and 116,000 salaried retirees.

GM's payroll would make it the second-largest bankruptcy by number of employees in the United States, behind only Kmart.

* SUPPLIERS/DEALERS: GM's purchasing budget runs to about $94 billion annually. It works with about 3,200 suppliers who supply more than 160,000 parts.

GM plans to reduce its network from 5,969 dealers as of May to approximately 3,600 by the end of 2010.

* U.S. FACILITIES: GM has 47 assembly, powertrain and stamping plants in the United States. GM aims to reduce the number to 34 by the end of 2010, and to 31 by 2012 under its restructuring plan. It has not yet identified those plants.

Source: BankruptcyData.com and GM filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchanges Commission.