General Motors is in "intense" and "earnest" preparations for a possible bankruptcy filing, a source familiar with the company's plans told CNBC's news partner Reuters, on Tuesday.
That new development comes just two days after the firm's new CEO Fritz Henderson told NBC's "Meet the Press" that he'd prefer to work "outside of the bankruptcy process."
But despite Henderson's comments, a plan to split the corporation into a "new" company made up of the most successful units, and an "old" one of its less-profitable units, is gaining momentum and is seen as the most sensible configuration, said another source familiar with the talks.
If the plan goes through, the new GM is expected to assume some previous creditor debt from bankruptcy proceedings, such as secured debt, said the second source, adding that GM bondholders are likely to lose substantial value in bankruptcy.
Certain GM dealer and litigation claims would also be hurt if the new company structure is used as part of a company bankruptcy, said the second source.
The sources asked for anonymity, saying they were not authorized to speak on the record.
In a Fast Money poll we ran Monday about 75% of you told us you think bankruptcy is the best solution for GM.
Opponents were the minority but did present some compelling issues. For example, Patti W. from Michigan writes, "If GM goes bankrupt it will throw thousands more on the unemployment roles and a few hundred thousand retirees into poverty. The guaranteed government pension is a substantial cut in the pension now received. Ours would be cut in half."
And that leads to our Fast Money Reader Poll. If GM files for bankruptcy are you worried about unitended consequences?
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