GM To Open Stock Sale To Employees, Retirees

It's been a long time since General Motors stock could be purchased, but the company has announced an initial public offering next month.

General Motors Chairman Ed Whitacre said that the company's stock will debut at a price somewhere between $20 to $25 a share when its initial public offering takes place next month.

Workers, retirees and dealers will have to invest a $1,000 in order to buy shares.

John Christie, President of the GM Retirees Association told WWJ it's a welcome move.

"I hope it's being viewed as an olive branch of sorts, to at least some retirees. It's not one-size-fits-all -- not everybody's going to be interested. In fact, Christie says he doesn't believe there will be a big rush by retirees to get into the market.

Christie said white collar workers would be the most likely to buy some shares.

"The bargaining unit there did ana excellent job of representing their folks, during the bankruptcy, of course we were unrepresented -- and we did take a lot of loss," Christie said.

GM has not officially announced a date or price for the initial stock sale. Regulators still need to accept the sale plan.

GM became a private company last year after filing for bankruptcy protection. The U.S. government became the largest shareholder when it gave GM $50 billion to help it through bankruptcy court. The government hopes to recoup its investment by selling its 61 percent stake over time

 (Copyright 2010 WWJ Radio.  All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)