President Barack Obama said General Motors Corp.'s (GM) restructuring plan provides an opportunity to emerge quickly from bankruptcy as a stronger company, but warned that fixing the troubled auto maker will take a "painful toll" on many Americans.

"Working with my auto task force, GM and its stakeholders have produced a viable, achievable plan that will give this iconic American company a chance to rise again," Obama said at the White House.

"I will not pretend the hard times are over," he added. "Difficult days lie ahead. More jobs will be lost. More plants will close. More dealerships will shut their doors, and so will many parts suppliers."

The government will inject another $30 billion into GM to help it get through the bankruptcy process, an investment that will pump the government's ownership position in the company to 60%. Obama repeated that the government is a "reluctant shareholder" with no interest in running the company's day-to-day operations.

The president was speaking hours after GM filed for protection in New York and as Chrysler LLC prepared to emerge from its own bankruptcy. He said none of the company's stakeholders are receiving special treatment, saying that the United Auto Workers is making "painful sacrifices, on top of all that they've already done."

He said unsecured bondholders, who agreed to swap $27 billion in debt for up to 25% of GM's equity, will recover "substantially more" than they would have without government help or if the company had been liquidated.

"I instructed my auto task force to treat all of GM's stakeholders fairly and to ensure that this restructuring was carried out in a way that was consistent with past precedent. And it was," Obama said.

-By Henry J. Pulizzi, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-9256; henry.pulizzi@dowjones.com