• by Karl Greenberg , October 10, 2008

General Motors, which this summer began a restructuring operation to slice $10 billion from fixed costs, is considering additional cuts next month, according to published reports. Last week the company's stock price hit lows not seen since the early 1950s, affecting GM's ability to generate cash.

Tony Sapienza, manager of manufacturing and labor communications, was quoted as saying that it's par for the course--and despite the current financial seizure, there are no plans to shutter operations beyond what GM has been contemplating.

"We said a while back we would reduce truck production--that we would be looking at our powertrain and body stamping businesses. We continue to do that analysis, and we are still looking at overall capacity. We have already been public about saying there's a likely impact on other areas, and we are looking at what that will be."

General Motors Chairman Rick Wagoner took to the Web last week to reassure the public about the company's position in the first of a series of videos called "The Case for GM," which the company is running on YouTube under the aegis of its FastLane social media campaign.

Wagoner understates the matter on the clip: "It's somewhat of an unsettled time," he says--arguing that while the company has been doing "the necessary stuff," vis à vis restructuring, "we have also been keeping an eye on the future."

He says the company will focus much of its business on emerging markets: China, Russia, and South America--and global vehicles. Also, he said the focus is on "what's going to happen to the auto industry in the coming age."

Christopher Barger, director of global communications technology, said in another clip that over the next few months each of GM's senior leadership will do "The Case for GM" videos, "talking about things that make us optimistic about the future," he says.