That would have been part of it as it would have been in any normal bankruptcy. GM and Chrysler needed to declare bankruptcy because their cash burn exceeded their available cash on hand = they ran out of money to continue doing business. Chrysler is destined to go tits up regardless of this but GM was a victim of bad timing. If the auto market hadn't gone sideways they were on the right track to turn things around in 5 years (as was Ford). Once GM ran out of money they should have been allowed to enter chapter 11 bankruptcy and reorganized as needed including the bankruptcy judge or trustee forcing a new agreement between GM and the UAW and anyone else GM owed money to.
The government intervention was unnecessary and was nrabroad
hing more than a cash grab to appease the unions.