GM today announced major plans to reduce cost -

• Pontiac brand (introduced 80 years ago) will be phased out by the end of the year
• 21,000 Hourly jobs will be eliminated by the end of the year
• GM Canada Work Force To Drop To 4,400 In 2014 From 10,300 In 2008
• GM Launches Massively Dilutive Debt Exchange 
  
• Plans to reduce its dealership ranks by 42 percent from 2008 to 2010, cutting them from 6,246 to 3,605.
• In talks with private parties to take a stake in OPEL
• Possible elimination or sale of Saturn, Hummer and Saab

The plan, which includes an offer to swap roughly $27 billion in bond debt for GM stock, would leave current shareholders holding just 1 percent of the century-old company, which is fighting for its life in the worst auto sales climate in 27 years.

GM is living on $15.4 billion in government loans and said Monday in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it envisions receiving an additional $11.6 billion. But if GM's restructuring plan can't satisfy the government by June 1, the struggling company could go into bankruptcy protection.

GM said that it will ask the government to take more than 50 percent of its common stock in exchange for canceling half the government loans to the company as of June 1. The swap would cancel about $10 billion in government debt.

In addition, GM is offering stock to the United Auto Workers for at least 50 percent of the $20 billion the company must pay into a union run trust that will take over retiree health care expenses starting next year.

If both are successful, the government and UAW health care trust would own 89 percent of GM stock, with the government holding more than a 50 percent stake, CEO Fritz Henderson said in a news conference at GM's Detroit headquarters. [Link]

 More about Pontiac brand here and here -

Pontiac's first model was a 1926 six-cylinder roadster called the Chief of the Sixes. In following years, the brand became known for offering sporty V8 models that were cheaper than Buicks and used components from low-cost Chevrolets.

In the 1960s, the Pontiac GTO became the founding member of Detroit's horsepower wars. That car was created by Mr. DeLorean and introduced in the fall of 1963. Shortly thereafter, Ford introduced its Mustang and Chrysler its Plymouth Barracuda as responses to GM's hit coupe.

One of Mr. DeLorean's legacies -- the so-called widetrack vehicle design -- still remains a feature of some Pontiac automobiles, and has played a role in its advertising messages.

In the 1970s, Pontiac went into decline as the Arab oil embargo drove up gasoline prices and consumers turned away from gas guzzlers. Pontiac enjoyed a brief resurgence in the 1980s when gas prices fell and GM accompanied its "Pontiac Excitement" marketing campaigns with smaller cars that had bigger engines, such as the Trans Am and Firebird.

In recent years, Pontiac has struggled to carve out an identity of its own. Attempts to revive its nameplates, including the GTO, have fallen flat due to a lack of design flair. Those efforts were also stymied by the bland minivans and sedans that Pontiac produced.

Hopefully, these cuts can help GM get back but something tells me that it can a long road ahead!