The Hill:

General Motors announced an acceleration Monday of its restructuring into a smaller company that will have fewer employees, brands and dealers.
GM also announced it was asking the Treasury Department to agree to convert half of the company’s debt to the government into equity. This would involve the U.S. forgiving a sizable amount of GM’s debt, and would make the U.S. government a large shareholder in GM.
GM CEO Fritz Henderson said the administration has “not expressed any interest in running” the company. “They want to make sure the company is run well to benefit all the parties,” he said in a press conference broadcast on GM’s web site.
The debt-for-equity exchange with Treasury combined with a separate deal with the United Autoworkers could bring in $20 billion, GM said. GM is under heavy pressure from the Obama administration to restructure itself by June 1 to win additional government loans. GM has already received $15 billion in loans, and wants an additional $11 billion.