GM to Cut 30,000 Jobs, Close 9 Plants

General Motors Corp. said on Monday it will cut about 30,000 jobs or 9 percent of its total work force, close or curtail operations at 12 plants in North America and slash the amount of vehicles it produces by 1 million as it attempts to reduce costs by $7 billion.
The company warned that it will need to take a “significant restructuring charge” associated with this plan, but did not spell out how large a charge it would be or when it would be taken.

GM has been grappling with high health-care and commodities costs, loss of U.S. market share to foreign rivals, and slumping sales of large sport utility vehicles that used to be its profit centers, but have now lost popularity due to high gasoline prices.

Yahoo