General Motors to Speed Up Job Cuts

General Motors (GMGMQ Quote) plans to cut 4,000 U.S. white-collar jobs by Oct. 1, which is 600 more than was earlier announced, a spokesman said.

The bankrupt U.S. automaker plans to eliminate more than 6,000 salaried jobs in total this year, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The accelerated plan to cut jobs will be made through a combination of layoffs and job-buyout incentives, GM spokesman Tom Wilkinson said, the Journal reports. Employees on Tuesday received letters notifying them of their options.

The company said in February it would eliminate 10,000 of its 73,000 salaried jobs around the world. The automaker also is cutting executive ranks by 34%, the Journal notes.

GM will have 23,500 salaried workers in the U.S., just over half what it had in 2000, when the job cuts are completed.