GM Announces More Job Cuts

General Motors has announced Tuesday that it is planning to lay off salaried workers at its North American facilities.

The shares of General Motors have hit their lowest level in 50 years and the company has announced it will lay off salaried workers at its North American facilities. The auto giant will also cut truck production, suspend its dividend and borrow between $2 and $3 billion in response to a slumping U.S. market, GM chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner said during an announcement to workers in Detroit, Mich. These actions are being taken in order to save the company $15 billion in a desperate measure to boost its flagging North American operations. GM had no other choice in the face of falling U.S. sales and the market shift towards smaller, more fuel efficient cars in response to record-high fuel prices. Sales over a three year period have gone from 17 million vehicles in a 12-month period. to a prediction of just 14.7 million vehicles this year.. BNN's Michael Kane said: "Today's restructuring announcement by General Motors, the second in six weeks, is expected to stop the bleeding and restore investor confidence after the company shares fell to a 54-year low." "They closed yesterday at 9.38, down almost 5.5 per cent." GM announced , in June, that four truck and SUV plants would be closed as consumer demand for the gas-guzzling vehicles shrunk in response to high fuel prices. The truck plant in Oshawa, Ont. was one. "The elimination of high paying jobs started in 2000 and since that time we have seen GM's salaried workforce fall from 44,000 down to 32,000," Kane said. The company will now concentrate on building fuel-efficient vehicles in response to changing market demands. "I just left a meeting with General Motors right now; they're not confirming that they're going to close it earlier," Canadian Auto Workers union local 222 president Chris Buckley told CTV Toronto on Tuesday morning. "But when the CEO of the corporation says he's going to accelerate previously announced plant closures, that makes me extremely nervous here in the city of Oshawa." "We want to work with the CAW, we're in discussions with them," GM spokesman David Patterson said. "We'll need to work through exactly when (the closure) takes place, just as we're also working on bringing new cars into the car plant." At the time the four plant closures were announced, Wagoner said it was unlikely the production facilities would be reopened and no new products were slated for production in lieu of the trucks and SUVs. GM has plans to have the Chevrolet Volt -- a plug-in electric car -- in dealers' showrooms by the end of 2010. and to add more small, fuel-efficient vehicles.