GM in deep Doo-Doo

[nychot]

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- General Motors Corp. said Tuesday it will suspend its dividend, sell off $4 billion to $7 billion worth of assets, and cut 20% worth of salaried cash costs.

CEO Rick Wagoner said in a statement that these were "difficult decisions," but necessary for company survival in the weak economy.

GM (GM, Fortune 500) has lost about one third of its 107,000 U.S. hourly workers since 2004. GM offered buyouts to its entire remaining U.S. hourly workforce of 74,000 in February, in a bid to unload its more experienced, higher-paid employees.

The Detroit-based automaker has been hard-hit by record-high gas prices, economic weakness, and a waning consumer interest in trucks and sport utility vehicles. The company has not made a profit since 2005.

Truck sales were down 21% in the first six months of 2008, while car sales were down 9% and Hummer sales plunged 40%. Overall, GM's vehicle sales were down 16%: worse than the industrywide vehicle sales decline of 10%.