General Motors, the world's largest automaker, reported a first-quarter loss of $3.25 billion after a year-earlier profit because of mortgage losses at a finance unit and plant shutdowns caused by a supplier strike.
The loss of $5.74 a share is GM's third straight quarterly deficit and compares with a profit of $62 million, or 11 cents, for the same period in 2007, the Detroit-based automaker said in a statement today. Sales fell 1.6 per cent to $42.7 billion.
Labor unrest, a slowing US economy and losses at the partly owned GMAC LLC finance unit are thwarting GM Chief Executive Officer Rick Wagoner's plans to end three years of losses.
GM had an $812 million pretax loss in North America, its largest region, wider than the $208 million deficit a year earlier. Wagoner has closed plants, negotiated less-expensive labor agreements and bought out the highest-paid union workers while failing to halt a US sales slide.
A two-month strike at American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings has idled all or part of as many as 31 GM plants. GM and other automakers report revenue when a model is shipped from the factory, not when it is sold at the dealer, so lost production means lost revenue.