General Motors said last night it is closing four truck plants employing 10,000 workers and could sell its Hummer brand in a rushed response to higher gasoline prices that the largest US automaker now sees as a permanent threat to its business.
Chief executive Rick Wagoner, in a news conference before the annual meeting, said GM would close the four North American truck plants and add shifts at two US plants making more popular and better-mileage cars to realign output with a US auto market reeling from an oil shock being compared with those of the 1970s.
Mr Wagoner said GM is reviewing its Hummer brand and could sell the military-derived SUV line, which has become synonymous with gas-guzzling excess and has hurt GM's image at a time when consumers are demanding more fuel efficiency.
"High gasoline prices are changing consumer behavior rapidly," Mr Wagoner said. "We at GM don't think this is a spike or temporary shift. We believe that it is by and large permanent."
In a bid to lessen its reliance on the higher-margin trucks and SUVs that represent some 60 per cent of its US sales, GM's board approved funding for a compact car to replace the Cobalt and a new subcompact to replace the Aveo. Both Chevy-branded small cars are set to go on sale in 2010.
GM's board also gave final approval to the Volt, a heavily touted, all-electric vehicle that GM expects to have in showrooms by 2010 in a bid to beat rival Toyota Motor Corp to market with the kind of rechargeable car embraced by environmentalists.
GM said the latest steps would cut $1 billion from its costs by 2010, but some questioned whether they would improve the automaker's prospects in the face of a US market now seen slumping well into 2009.
Mr Wagoner said GM, which has lost a combined $51 billion over the past three years, is not ready to detail a timeline for returning to profitability.
GM shares, which have lost almost 60 percent since peaking in October last year, initially rose on the restructuring steps, but gave up most of those gains when the automaker reported May sales results underscoring the pressure it faces.
GM's May sales dropped 30 per cent after adjusting for the number of selling days. Sales for the first five months of the year were down 16 per cent.