Treasury, UAW to sell more GM shares this week

The United States Treasury Department has announced plans to sell off another 30 million shares of General Motor stock.

In anticipation of GM's return to the S&P 500 index later this week, the U.S. Treasury announced on Wednesday that it will divest another 30 million shares of GM stock, or about 12 percent of its remaining stake in the Detroit automaker. Additionally, the UAW's Retiree Medical Benefits Trust will sell off 20 million shares of GM stock before the automaker returns to the S&P 500 on Thursday.

During the first three months of the year, the U.S. Treasury sold off about 20 percent of its remaining GM stake. The federal government currently owns 16.4 percent of GM, down from a 60.8 percent share following the $49.5 billion bailout of the automaker in 2009.

The government previously stated that it would exit GM ownership by March 2014, but this week's sell off could signal an acceleration of that plan.

“The accelerated sell-down by the government should be viewed positively," RBC Capital analyst Joseph Spak told The Detroit News. "We believe (the Treasury exit) could be quicker — perhaps by the end of the year.”

At current prices, taxpayers stand to lose about $10 billion on GM's bailout.