General Motors Co. plans to cut up to 14,800 jobs in the U.S. and Canada and end production at several North American factories, marking the auto maker's first significant downsizing since its bankruptcy last decade as the company tries to adjust to weak sedan sales.

通用汽车公司计划在美国和加拿大裁员逾14800人，并关闭数家北美工厂。这是该汽车制造商为了应对汽车销售疲软，自破产十年来的首次大幅裁员。

The moves would reduce GM's annual costs by $4.5 billion by the end of 2020, freeing up money to invest in electric and self-driving vehicles.

到2020年底，这项举措将为通用公司节省出45亿美元的资金流，从而使得其能够腾出资金投资电动汽车和自动驾驶汽车。

The decision, though, was called "callous" by the main auto workers union and prompted President Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to each call GM Chief Executive Mary Barra to express their disappointment.

不过，汽车工人工会称此计划为“无情的决定”，促使特朗普总统和加拿大总理贾斯·特鲁多分别致电通用汽车首席执行官玛丽·巴拉，表达他们对此计划的不满。

Ms. Barra said she wants to act now, despite a strong economy and the company's healthy earnings, to help GM sustain profits through an expected downturn in the U.S. car market and keep investing in burgeoning technologies.

巴拉称，尽管经济强劲，公司盈利状况良好，但她希望现在就采取行动，帮助通用汽车在美国汽车市场出现低迷之前维持利润，并继续投资于新兴技术。

"This is what we're doing to transform the company. The industry is changing very rapidly," Ms. Barra said Monday.

巴拉周一时表示：“这是我们公司改革的决策。汽车行业的变化非常快。”

"We think it's appropriate to get in front of it while the business and the economy are strong."

“我们认为，在企业和经济都很强劲的情况下，提前做一些准备是适宜的。”