GM CEO Fritz Henderson said the company still prefers to restructure outside of court, but he acknowledged that the prospect of bankruptcy is more likely now that it was a few weeks ago.

“The task at hand in terms of what we need to get done is formidable,” Henderson said. “But it can be done.”

MSU professor of labor and industrial relations John Revitte said the moves, while helpful, are still painful to watch.

“All of the announcements are potentially helpful and will be beneficial to getting them over the hump and avoiding bankruptcy,” he said. “But these moves are disappointing because this giant keeps getting smaller and smaller.”

GM said it would speed up six additional factory closings that were announced in February, although it did not identify the locations.

Lansing auto workers should be safe despite the extra cuts throughout the country, said Randy Freeman, vice president of UAW Local 652, which represents the Lansing Grand River Assembly Plant.

“Right now, most of (the Lansing workers) are thinking it’s a sigh of relief,” he said.

“It’s not going to affect us directly, but it still means that there will be 20,000 more union workers out of a job, which is always a disappointing thing.”

Henderson said there would be three more factory closures in 2010 beyond the six that previously were planned. Including previously announced plant closures, the restructuring will leave GM with 34 factories at the end of next year, 13 fewer than the 47 it had at the end of 2008.

The company also said it plans to reduce its dealership ranks by 42 percent from 2008 to 2010, cutting them from 6,246 to 3,605.

Mark LaNeve, vice president of North American sales and marketing, said a big chunk of the dealership reduction — about 450 — would come with the elimination or sale of Saturn, Hummer and Saab.

The company said it would phase out its storied Pontiac brand no later than next year, and the futures of Hummer, Saturn and Saab will be resolved by the end of this year by either selling them or phasing them out.

For Pontiac, the decision means the death of a brand known for its muscle cars including the Trans Am made famous in movies and the GTO, the subject of a nostalgic song by Ronny and the Daytonas.

Henderson said in a news conference that the company was spread too thin to make Pontiac work.

“We didn’t think we had the resources to get this done from a product perspective,” or marketing, he said.

He said the decision was very tough for many at GM because of the 83-year-old brand’s heritage.

“It’s been a very sad story all year long and there are still a lot of fears here in Michigan,” Revitte said.

“There are still lots of potential job losses, blue and white collar, and it’s been devastating, but this is better than if it were to go out of business. It’s just been an awfully painful way to downsize.”

The Associated Press and staff writer Pat Evans contributed to this article.