To get production in line with demand, GM will cut 30,000 jobs and close nine assembly, stamping and powertrain plants and three parts facilities. The job cuts represent 27 percent of GM's hourly paid jobs and about 17 percent of its overall U.S. workforce of 173,000.

With increasing competition from Asian rivals, GM lost almost $4 billion in the first nine months of this year.

"The decisions we are announcing today were very difficult to reach because of their impact on our employees and the communities where we live and work," GM Chairman and Chief Executive Rick Wagoner said Nov. 21. "But these actions are necessary for GM to get its costs in line with our major global competitors."

GM isn't the only U.S. automaker cutting costs. Ford Motor Co. recently told employees it plans to eliminate about 4,000 white-collar jobs in the United States early next year as part of a restructuring plan.

The Japan Times Weekly: Nov. 26, 2005
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