General Motors is doing some major spring cleaning to prevent filing for bankruptcy.

GM on Monday said it’s getting rid of its Pontiac brand, and will cut 21,000 jobs by next year, including shutting down more than half its dealers across the country and shutting six more plants in North America. The major moves are an effort to convince bondholders to slash some of its $27.5 billion debt and stave off a June 1 U.S.-backed bankruptcy, Bloomberg reports. If the company can’t get its costs and debt down, the federal government may force it to seek bankruptcy protection.

GM says its plan will cut structural costs by 25 percent — from $30.8 billion in 2008 to $23.2 billion in 2010. The car company also will offer a debt for equity swap, handing over 225 shares in the company in exchange for every $1,000 in bondholder debt. The U.S. Treasury will give GM another $11.6 billion on top of the $15.4 billion in loans it already handed out.

The plan also calls for:

-GM to cut down to 40,000 union workers in the U.S. by the end of next year; there were 62,000 in 2008
-Going from 47 to 34 U.S. plants by the end of 2010, then down to 31 by 2012.
-Decreased production by about 190,000 vehicles during the second and early third quarters of 2009
-Getting rid of Pontiac to focus on the Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC brands

But this likely won’t mean the end of the layoffs. Per GM: "GM also anticipates a further decline in salaried and executive employment as it continues to assess its structure and execute the Viability Plan. More details will be announced as soon as they are finalized with the various stakeholders."

Meanwhile, another one of the Big 3 automakers, Chrysler, is also restructuring to stay alive, and is working with unions on ways to cut labor and debt costs to avoid a similar fate GM faces, Reuters reports The Obama administration gave Chrysler until this Thursday to make a deal and an alliance with Italian automaker Fiat if it wants to keep receiving government aid.

The car manufacturer malaise has many former company workers-turned-retirees wondering what their future holds. About 1 million Americans, for example, rely on GM alone for healthcare and pensions.

"It’s scary. It’s like I don’t know my future," 51-year-old John Martinez, a former autoworker outside Detroit, told Reuters. He was forced into early retirement this year. "If they go bankrupt, I’m at their mercy."