GM to Cut Shift at Michigan Plant in Late June

General Motors Co. is deepening its headcount-reduction drive in the U.S., saying Thursday it will cancel a production shift at its Warren, Mich., transmission factory in response to soft demand for passenger cars, such as sedans.

The moves come as GM reported a U.S. sales decline in May and a modest slump through five months. Affecting less than half of the plant's roughly 600 employees, the reduction is tied to a broader job-cutting scheme that the No.1 U.S. auto maker started rolling out earlier in 2017 at certain assembly plants.

GM and many of its rivals have recently announced or reiterated significant job and investment commitments in response to pressure from President Donald Trump related to U.S. manufacturing. In January, GM confirmed a $1 billion U.S. investment plan.

That optimism is clouded, however, as sales of certain GM sedans are tumbling as gasoline prices remain low and consumers opt for larger wagons or sport utilities.

Through May, the Chevrolet Malibu has tumbled 30% and the Cadillac CTS has fallen 34% compared with the same five-month stretch in 2016.

Write to John Stoll at john.stoll@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 01, 2017 10:31 ET (14:31 GMT)