Kent Kresa, interim chairman of General Motors Corp., has acknowledged bankruptcy is imminent unless the floundering automaker can quickly negotiate an agreement with stakeholders and the federal government to restructure.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Kresa said the GM board of directors believes an out-of-court restructuring is the preferred option. But he stressed quickly approaching deadlines may prevent it.

"The times are very, very short," Kresa told the newspaper. “This is a very difficult thing to do. We have some deadlines rapidly approaching and the probabilities are decreasing we can do [this] outside
of bankruptcy."

Kresa was installed at the end of March after Chairman and Chief Executive Rick Wagoner was ousted by the White House, which also handed GM a June 1 deadline to revise its restructuring plan or face bankruptcy.

General Motors is operating on a $13.4 billion in U.S. government funds. But Kresa said GM needs additional funding. The company faces an April 17 deadline to launch a swap with bondholders that would eliminate much of the company's debt.

President Barack Obama on March 30 rejected GM's proposed restructuring plan. The auto maker is working on a new plan, but is also detailing a bankruptcy scenario should its efforts fail.

GM's preferred bankruptcy plan would break the company into two parts, with Chevrolet and Cadillac as the company's emphasized stronger assets. Other struggling brands like Saturn and Hummer would face drastic overhauls or liquidation.