• US carmaker has run up losses of $81bn in four years • GM’s bankruptcy will be the third largest in US history General Motors is expected to declare itself bankrupt within hours, seeking legal protection from its creditors after running up losses of $81bn (£50bn) over four years. Its bankruptcy filing will be the third largest in US history, behind last year’s collapse of the Wall Street bank Lehman Brothers and the demise of the telecoms firm WorldCom in 2002.