General Motors to cut 2,000 jobs

Demand for new cars has fallen sharply.

Struggling US carmaker General Motors says it will shed 2,000 jobs at plants in Michigan and Ohio.

GM added that it also planned to cut production at several plants over the next six months, as car sales continue to fall.

Last month, the White House agreed a $17.4bn bail-out package for GM and rival Chrysler.

GM had warned that it could run out of cash in a matter of weeks, had the money not been made available.

GLOBAL JOB CUTS Caterpillar - 20,000 ING - 7,000 Philips - 6,000 Corus - 3,500 Home Depot - 7,000 Pfizer/Wyeth - 20,000 General Motors - 2,000

GM said last week that it sold 8,350,000 vehicles in 2008, down by 11% from 2007.

The decline meant GM sold fewer vehicles than Toyota last year, ending GM's 77-year reign as the world's top-selling car firm.

It is the latest big firm to announce massive job cuts. On Monday, alone companies worldwide said they planned to eliminate more than 50,000 jobs.