GM slashes truck production by 140K year

General Motors Corp. will cut production by nearly 140,000 trucks a year at four North American plants the automaker announced on Monday.

GM is eliminating one shift each at four factories in Pontiac, Flint, Oshawa, Ont., and Janesville, Wis., starting July 14.

Sales of large trucks and SUVs, once a bastion of profit for the struggling automaker, have fallen plummeted amid soaring fuel prices and a decline in new home construction. GM's sales of large SUVs and full-size pickups are down 20 percent each through March.

"With rising fuel prices, a softening economy, and a downward trend on current and future market demand for full-size trucks, a significant adjustment was needed to align our production with market realities," Troy Clarke, president GM North America, said in a statement.. "This is a difficult move, but we remain committed to retaining and growing our leadership position in the full-size truck market."

GM's U.S. sales are down 11 percent through March this year. The Detroit News