Job and brand cuts from GM on the horizon

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FOLLOW UP: Tony Cervone, a GM spokesperson, has told Bloomberg that HUMMER is the only brand the General is considering selling or closing.
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that General Motors is looking to cut thousands of white-collar jobs and sell, or stop production, of some if its brands. The General has supposedly set 2010 as a target for its return to profitability, but the automaker has never announced any details on how it plans to achieve that goal.

GM's management team will be meeting with the board early next month to discuss raising additional cash, and that could mean seriously pruning GM's bloated brand portfolio. HUMMER is supposedly already on the block, but Chevrolet and Cadillac – brands at the core of GM's business – are likely safe from the ax. However, Buick, Pontiac, Saab and Saturn, which haven't fared well during the biggest U.S. sales slump in 15 years, could possibly be sold or killed completely.

While it deserves note that all of this information comes from unnamed WSJ sources, GM's recent stock plunge and abysmal June sales numbers means something has to be done, and quick. If that entails cutting underperforming brands, so be it -- nostalgia be damned.

[Source: WSJ (Sub. Req.) via Reuters]

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