GM Dealers Death Toll in 2010: 1,650

American manufacturer GM's 2009 bankruptcy brought with it a reorganization plan of previously unseen proportions. Aside for revising the product lineup and reorganizing its finances, GM also announced a killer plan to rid itself of what it considers to be bad performing dealerships.

At the end of this, GM will have 4,500 left, the company's American president Mark Reuss told DetNews. That's 1,650 dealerships less than last year and only a preliminary step towards reaching the 4,000 stores figure in 2012.

"We are strategically aligning these franchise points so we don't have overlap,” Reuss said during a meeting last week with bankers and financial analysts.

There is no word however how the dealer arbitration process for the rejected ones is going in GM's case. Last week, some 20 stores received permission to stay open until at least the end of January, when the legal challenges of GM's decision will conclude.

This is why spokeswoman Ryndee Carney said the 4,500 dealerships target is not a sign GM is winning the arbitration cases. Reuss added that when arbitration concludes next month, GM will have about 5,000 dealerships.

The meeting, also attended by CEO Ed Whitacre, was a means for the company to draw attention upon itself in light of the initial public offering (IPO), said to be done sometime in August. It was also the perfect venue for GM to convince investors this is a sound project. The new GM, that is...

"We're not reintroducing GM today. We're introducing a new GM, because we are a new and much different company than we were 12 months ago,” Whitacre said.