General Motors Corp. announced this morning its plans to eliminate 23,000 U.S. jobs by 2011, drop its Pontiac brand and reduce its dealer network by 42 percent in an attempt to avoid bankruptcy, CNNMoney reported.

The struggling automaker also announced that it had made an offer to its bondholders to swap $24 billion of its $27 billion in unsecured debt for stock, offering 225 shares of GM stock for every $1,000 it owes in principal. Company CEO Fritz Henderson warned in a press conference at 9 a.m. Iowa time that bankruptcy is very likely if bondholders don’t agree to the swap.

“It’s not impossible, but it’s a tough task,” Henderson said about the company’s ability to get enough bondholders to accept the company’s stock. “That’s why I think [bankruptcy] is more probable.”

Under the revised restructuring proposal, the Treasury Department would accept GM stock instead of cash for repayment of about $10 billion that the government has already loaned to GM; thus U.S. taxpayers would own a significant stake in the company. Together, the Treasury Department and the United Auto Workers union, which controls a large amount of trust funds within the company, would own 89 percent of the automaker.

The Obama administration said in a statement today that GM’s new plan “reflects the work GM has done since March 30 to chart a new path to financial viability.” However, the government added that it “has made no final decision regarding the treatment of its current loan to GM or with respect to any future investments in the company.”

The Treasury Department extended GM an additional $2 billion in loans last week, bringing its total federal assistance to $15.4 billion. The administration said the automaker has until the end of May to reach deals with creditors and unions to cut costs or be forced into bankruptcy.