General Motors Corp. doesn't plan to make a $1 billion payment due June 1 to bondholders since by that point it expects either to have cut its debt through an exchange for shares, or to have decided to seek bankruptcy-court protection, GM Chief Financial Officer Ray Young said.

Mr. Young, speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a Chinese auto industry summit near Detroit, said the company will launch a debt-for-equity exchange in coming days aimed at greatly reducing ...