General Motors Corp. filed for bankruptcy today, with a union health plan and the U.S. government holding the largest ownership stakes as the company goes through restructuring.

GM claimed $82.29 billion in assets and $172.81 billion in debts in the filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, Bloomberg reported.

Its largest creditors were the Wilmington Trust Co., representing a group of bondholders holding $22.8 billion in debts, and affiliates of the United Auto Workers (UAW) union, representing nearly $20.6 billion in employee obligations, The New York Times reported.

The U.S. government will bankroll GM’s transformation, converting much of its $50 billion in loans to a 60 percent stake in the new entity, administration officials said. The UAW health plan will have a 17.5 percent stake. In addition, the Canadian government will loan nearly $10 billion.

GM’s bankruptcy is the third-largest in U.S. history, ranked by total assets, after Lehman Bros. Holdings Inc. and WorldCom Inc. Chrysler LLC listed $39 billion in assets when it filed for bankruptcy in April.

The company was forced into the filing by President Barack Obama, who is betting that by temporarily nationalizing the onetime icon of American capitalism, he can save at least a diminished automaker that is competitive, The New York Times said.

Meanwhile, Chrysler is expected to emerge from bankruptcy within the next few days after a judge gave approval late Sunday for the purchase of most of its assets by Italian automaker Fiat S.p.A., according to media reports.

GM ranked as the world’s top-selling automaker until last year, when Toyota Motor Co. claimed the top spot.