As part of its downsizing and restructuring effort, GM - General Motors Corp - plans a 14 percent slash in its workforce, implying 10,000 job-cuts globally, 3,400 of them in the US. Hit hard by the financial meltdown, GM has, of late, idled some of its factories and eliminated hundreds of workers in overseas markets.

The proposed job-cuts by the automaker come in the wake of GM's February 17 deadline for presenting its long-term feasibility plan before the government. The company, which is received federal aid of $9.4 billion, is going "all out" to present a convincing case, or else it risks losing the funds it received.

In its race against time, GM is busy negotiating with bondholders and labor unions, for further cost reduction. The company has also proposed the closure of more factories, as well as the abolition of certain vehicles and brands from its US portfolio.

While GM also plans to cut the pay of US salaried workers by almost 10%, the UAW - United Auto Workers - proposes to fight demands to acknowledge wage cuts necessitated by the loan agreement.

In conversation with reporters, GM Chairman Rick Wagoner - underlining the plunging sales worldwide - said that the job and salary cuts that the automaker announced on Tuesday are "the kind of things that we need to do to get this viability plan in shape and respond to this tough market condition."