General Motors Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Rick Wagoner said on Tuesday that GM plans to cut 25,000 jobs in the United States by 2008 and to close plants as part of a strategy to revive its struggling North American operations.

Speaking to shareholders at GM's 96th annual hareholder meeting in Delaware, Wagoner said the capacity and job cuts will generate annual savings of roughly 2.5 billion dollars.

He said the aim of the plan is "to pick up the pace in reducing our cost, and improving our quality." "With little pricing opportunity, we know we can't return to adequate levels of profitability without an extremely competitive cost structure, and without being among the very best in quality," he said.

GM has closed some plants in the past several months because of the decline of auto sales. Plant closings and idling in recent months have reduced GM's assembly capacity in North America from 6 million in 2002 to 5 million by the end of this year.

Source: Xinhua