General Motors is planning to cut 25，000 jobs in the US as it tries to recover from poor performance there.The US car giant is to shut down parts and assembly plants in an attempt to save $2.5bn （￡1.4bn） a year.

　　The cutbacks were announced by chief executive Rick Wagoner as part of a four-step plan to return the firm to financial health.The carmaker， the biggest in the US domestic market， made a loss of $1.3bn for the first three months of 2005.

　　The loss would have been even larger without healthy profits on GM's financial services arm.The company has already announced plans to cut 12，000 jobs from its European units， including Saab and Opel.

　　Tuesday's announcement saw GM shares gain 1% to $30.73.In a “state of the business” speech to investors， Mr Wagoner said his plans could see more than 25，000 jobs disappear by 2008.

　　The firm's most recent performance had seen GM fall short of its expectations for market share， he acknowledged.In addition， sales of lucrative sports utility vehicles （SUVs） were flagging in favour of smaller cars on which the firm earns slimmer profits， as high fuel costs hit home.

　　［中文辅助练习］：6月7日，通用汽车董事长兼首席执行官里克。瓦格纳在股东年会上表示，该公司将在2008年前裁员至少2.5万人，以达到每年节省约25亿美元的目标。