General Motors Corporation began white collar layoffs, telling about 160 workers at the Warren Technical Center that their last day will be April 1st 2009. The move is just the beginning of GM's plans to cut 3,400 salaried jobs in the United States this year. Worldwide, GM plans to cut 47,000 workers by the end of the year.

Mr Tom Wilkinson a spokesman of GM said that "It will impact every area of the business. Some of those will be through normal attrition, but there will be a significant number of involuntary separations coming from now through the early part of May.”

He added that today's cuts were mainly engineers, coming as GM's North American manufacturing footprint shrinks to match reduced sales and market share.

The company has announced the closure of nine assembly, parts stamping and powertrain factories since the end of 2005 and it plans to close five more factories.

Mr Wilkinson said that "These are good capable people. The reductions are just necessary to implement the viability plan and restructure the business to make it self-sustaining."

(Sourced from Associated Press)