GM to cut production in half by 250,000 cars

GM will be slashing first quarter production for 2009 by more than half than what it was in 2008.

GM has said it will cut Q1 production by 250,000 units. That figure includes the 60,000 car and truck production cuts already made last week.

The move amounts to a 30 percent shutdown of North American production plants for GM. Some plants will be closed altogether for the entire month of January. GM's Kansas City, Kansas and Spring Hill, Tennessee plants will shut down from Christmas through to February 9th.

The cuts will bring GM production for Q1 of 2009 down to 425,000 units, less than half of production for Q1 2008.

Such a dramatic cut in production will make GM a much smaller car producer than what it once was. By comparison, its production will now be close to its much smaller cross-town rival Ford, whose Q1 2009 production will be about 430,000 units.