General Motors has been busy with announcements today, with the first being that it has officially emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The announcement comes only 39 days after the company had originally filed for bankruptcy.

Having gotten itself out of bankruptcy, the company is set to undergo a rebirth and will tackle its controversial executive culture by cutting about 35 percent of staff from its executive level. There is no word as to when the company might pay back the 50 billion dollar taxpayer funded loans it has received, but after a tough month in June, here’s hoping the American auto giant is back on its feet.

After the general announcement that General Motors had emerged from bankruptcy, it also revealed part of its strategy to get sales back on track. The plan is to test a new strategy with eBay online auctions in which customers can bid for new cars online rather than visiting dealerships. Fritz Henderson revealed the plans to sell cars online, saying:

“Customers will be able to bid on actual vehicles just like they do in an eBay auction, including the option of choosing a predetermined ‘Buy It Now’ price… we’ll be testing this and other ideas with our dealers over the next few weeks, and hope to expand and build upon them in the coming months… in all cases, our goal is to make the shopping and buying process as easy as possible for GM customers - on their time and their terms. Stay tuned.”

Apparently ‘revolutionising’ the way people buy cars will include an innovative partnership with eBay in California. The big question is how General Motors will now deal with its dealership network and whether some dealers may find business harder as customers choose to buy online in what may be considered an empowering move for consumers.

Source | Left Lane News and Autoblog

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