GM Mulling Job and Brand Cuts: Report

The Detroit, Michigan- based automaker is expected to approve the white-collar job cuts when the company's board meets in August, according to unnamed sources in a Wall Street Journal report.

The reductions would be in addition to earlier announced cuts. Management may also present the board with options for raising additional cash, the sources told the paper.

The automaker currently sells vehicles under eight different brands which are potential candidates for elimination, with the exception of Chevrolet and Cadillac brands GM considers its core business. The report noted that the Saturn and Saab are most likely the first to be eliminated. The company has already decided to put its Hummer division up for sale.

The company has been hard-hit by soaring oil and raw material prices, the credit crunch and the housing downturn. According to a Merrill Lynch report released last week, GM will need to raise as much as $15 billion in cash to shore up liquidity and bankruptcy is "not impossible" if the U.S. auto market continues to plunge.

General Motor's rival Ford Motor Co. has implemented similar measures in a bid to cut costs, by slashing 2,000 salaried jobs and selling off Land Rover, Jaguar and Aston Martin.