DETROIT — General Motors posted a $6 billion first-quarter loss and said it burned through $10.2 billion of cash in the first three months of the year as revenue plummeted by $20 billion.

Chief Financial Officer Ray Young said talk of the company going into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection appeared to have scared some consumers away from buying GM vehicles. GM faces a June 1 government deadline to finish a restructuring plan or go into bankruptcy protection.

GM's loss for the quarter amounted to $9.78 per share, compared with a loss of $3.3 billion, or $5.80 per share in the year-ago period.

Revenue dropped sharply — 47 percent — from $42.4 billion to $22.4 billion in the quarter because of declining sales worldwide.