1. Economic crisis: The global financial crisis in 2008 had a great impact on the automobile industry. The decline in consumer demand has led to a sharp decline in car sales. General motors failed to adapt to market changes in time, resulting in a sharp decline in revenue and profits.
2. High debt: GM was burdened with high debt before the financial crisis. With the deterioration of the market environment, the company can't repay these debts, which leads to further deterioration of the financial situation.
3. Labor cost: GM's labor cost is relatively high, which makes its production cost higher than other competitors. This may not be a problem when the market environment is good, but when the economy is depressed, the higher cost puts GM at a disadvantage in the competition.
4. Product quality: Before the financial crisis, GM had recalled many times due to product quality problems, which led to a decline in consumers' trust in the brand. This further affects GM's sales and profitability.
5. Fuel economy: With the rising of energy prices and the increasingly serious environmental problems, consumers' demand for cars with higher fuel economy increases. However, GM failed to launch competitive products in this field in time, resulting in market share being seized by other competitors.
6. Management problems: Some people think that GM's management has made mistakes in responding to market changes and internal reforms of the company, which has led to the company's failure to take effective measures to meet the challenges in time.
In 2009, GM filed for bankruptcy protection and was reborn through restructuring and government assistance. After bankruptcy and reorganization, GM carried out a series of reforms, including cutting costs, improving product quality and introducing new products, and gradually recovered its competitiveness.