Saying the "new" General Motors Co. that emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy on July 10 is mostly achieving its goals for cost and debt reductions and is exceeding its projections in some key business metrics, CEO Fritz Henderson said in a media conference call Wednesday that GM is making progress in its three-pronged future strategy to focus on customers, cars and changing its corporate culture.

Just 90 days into its new status as a private company, GM was long on generalities and brief of specifics, however.

"We've made a lot of progress in 90 days," Henderson said. "We have been granted an extraordinary second chance to reinvent this company. We are driving hard to change the way we interact with our customers, to ensure our new cars and trucks are the best in their segment, and to change the way we operate and how we think about the business. We need to prove ourselves every day, and we will."

One of the most critical points in GM's restructuring was the reduction of its cost structure, with too much labor cost and too much manufacturing capacity widely acknowledged as the factors GM had to immediately change in order to survive.

GM's brief journey through Chapter 11 (along with wide-ranging concessions from the United Auto Workers union) was used to address these issues, and GM's "report card" indicates progress as expected -- mostly.

Facilities and Head-Count Costs Not Yet Cut as Planned

For example, the company's reorganization plan dictated a reduction of six manufacturing facilities by the end of 2009. GM so far has shed four plants, going from 47 at the end of 2008 to the current 43; the company's release said it still plans to hit its target by year's end.

But GM also is taking on four "new" facilities acquired from former mega-supplier Delphi Corp.

The company also is far from attaining its target of reducing its hourly employee workforce from 62,000 to 40,000 by year-end. The current number stands at about 49,000.

Nor has the target of reducing the salaried workforce been attained. GM wanted to reduce to 23,000 white-collar employees by the end of the year, but so far is down to 24,300. At the end of 2008, GM had 29,700 salaried employees.

"Attrition programs fell short of our expectations," Henderson admitted, also conceding that the company has reinstated some hourly workers in order to increase production in some needed areas.

The controversial culling of its large dealer body is tracking close to projections, however, with the 5,800 dealers at the end of the third quarter exceeding by just 200 the goal of 5,600 dealers. GM had 6,375 dealers at the end of 2008.

"We're on a path to achieve our structural-cost reductions," Henderson concluded.