The 'new' General Motors (GM) appears to be well on its way to an expectantly profitable future, with the GM attorneys having completed all the requisite paperwork - sanctioning the transfer of cash, technology, real estate, and other GM property - for formally steering the automaker out of bankruptcy protection on Friday.

The recession-hit automaker will exit bankruptcy protection after being cleared of its mammoth debt and onerous contracts that threatened to be submerge the company, without the timely federal loans.

The process of rejuvenating the troubled automaker was pushed forth by the Obama administration. The rapid 40-day process happened to be even a wee bit quicker than a similar process initiated for GM's rival automaker Chrysler, which took 42 days for completion.

At a Friday new conference, GM CEO Fritz Henderson, and incoming Chairman and veteran telecommunications executive Ed Whitacre, would announce the launch of the "new GM" at the automaker's Detroit headquarters.

Henderson will also announce the new, debt-cleansed GM's streamlining of its bureaucratic management structure, as well as additional 4,000 layoffs of white-collar employees, including 450 top executives.

Talking about the new GM, automotive analyst George Magliano, of IHS Global Insight consulting firm, said: "It is the smaller, leaner, tougher, better cost-focused GM. But they still have to deal with the problems that they faced longer-term."