General Motors Corp on Thursday said it lost twice the amount of money in the first quarter as it did a year ago. The company posted a loss of $6 billion, amounting to $9.78 a share, as against a loss of $3.3 billion, or $5.80 a share, a year ago, when its stock hovered above the $20 level.

This is expected to put even more pressure on the carmaker to expedite the restructuring process as a deadline looms.

Shares of the Dow component are now trading at $1.60. The stock's value has fallen to half its value since the beginning of 2009.

Revenue fell to $22.4 billion from $42.4 billion, as global demand for cars and trucks remains depressed.

GM CFO Ray Young said concerns regarding the honouring of warranties in the event of a bankruptcy weighed high on the top line.

The loss is, however, less than what many analysts had expected, on average $11.39 a share with total sales of $20.7 billion.

GM said it held $11.6 billion in cash at the end of the quarter which was down from 14.2 billion at the end of 2008. The company burned through $10.2 billion in cash by the end of the quarter.

GM is a beneficiary of a government bailout, having received $15.4 billion in low-cost government loans so far. The company will need to reach concessions agreement with the union and creditors for avoiding bankruptcy ahead of 1 June government deadline for restructuring operations.

"Our first-quarter results underscore the importance of executing GM's revised viability plan, which goes further and faster to lower our break-even point," Fritz Henderson, president and chief executive, said in a statement.

GM, as part of the restructuring, is in the process of phasing out Pontiac and selling Hummer, Saturn and Saab to streamline itself to just four brands - Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC and Buick.

That is, however, only part of the story as bondholders too will need to agree to take a big hit for the US government to keep GM out of bankruptcy. There has been no movement on this front in recent weeks.

Analysts expect Chrysler to be able to push its restructuring in good time so that GM is encouraged to take the same path. However, if the process at Chrysler is slowed down by lenders and other claimants, GM may take a more cautious approach and offer bondholders a more attractive offer in a more realistic attempt to avoid a Chapter 11 filing.

Meanwhile, Ford Motor Co, which decided not to seek federal government bailout, has reported improved cash flow and a loss that was less than Wall Street projections.