GM's Young: Automaker may consider more layoffs

General Motors Corp. might offer another round of buyout and early retirement offers to its U.S. hourly workers because of production cuts, the company's chief financial officer said Friday.

Nearly 19,000 manufacturing workers - or about 25 percent of GM's U.S. hourly work force - signed up for the latest round of buyout offers, which ended July 1. Chief Financial Officer Ray Young said 90 percent of those workers have left the company.

GM took a $3.3 billion charge in the second quarter to pay for those buyouts, making up a big chunk of the $15.5 billion net loss the company reported Friday.

Young said more buyouts could be coming because of a steep decline in demand for GM's trucks and sport utility vehicles, which have forced the closure of several North American plants.

GM said in mid-July it plans to reduce North American production by 300,000 vehicles.

The company is speeding up closures of pickup and SUV factories in Janesville, Wis.; Oshawa, Ontario; Moraine, Ohio; and Toluca, Mexico as it tries to deal with a rapid shift to smaller vehicles brought on by $4-per-gallon gasoline. It also is eliminating shifts at a Moraine, Ohio, SUV plant and a Shreveport, La., truck plant, and could cut further shifts.

GM's hourly work force has been cut by more than half in recent years as the company adjusts its manufacturing to its shrinking U.S. market share. GM had a total of 113,000 U.S. hourly workers in 2006; it now has around 55,000.

The company also is reducing its salaried work force. GM said in mid-July it would cut 20 percent of its U.S. and Canadian salaried costs, or around 5,000 workers. Those cuts are expected to be completed by November.