FACTBOX: Key facts about General Motors

(Reuters) - Founded in 1908, General Motors has been kept in operation with $19.4 billion in U.S. government loans this year.

Here are several key facts about Detroit-based GM:

* FINANCIALS: GM lost $31 billion in 2008, taking its total losses to $82 billion in the past four years. It sold 8.3 million vehicles worldwide in 2008, down from 9.37 million a year earlier.

GM lost its ranking as the top global automaker by vehicle sales for the first time in 2008 when it was outsold by Toyota Motor Corp.

* BRANDS/KEY VEHICLES: GM's brands include Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, GMC, Saab, Saturn, Hummer and Pontiac. GM is in talks to sell Saab, Saturn and Hummer in 2009 and plans to drop Pontiac by the end of 2010. It is focusing on its remaining four brands, which represent 83 percent of sales.

Top-selling vehicles include the Chevy Silverado pickup truck, the Chevy Malibu and Chevy Impala sedans, the Cadillac CTS luxury sedan and the GMC Sierra pickup truck.

* EMPLOYEES/RETIREES: GM had 243,000 employees as of December 2008 -- 170,000 hourly and 73,000 salaried. About 54,000 workers are U.S. factory workers represented by the United Auto Workers union.

In the United States, GM had 384,000 hourly retirees and 116,000 salaried retirees.