GM to Lay Off 3,200 More in New Production Cuts

General Motors Corp., in the second announcement of job cuts in as many days, said Thursday that it will eliminate 3,200 jobs indefinitely at three plants that build mid-size cars.

Industry analysts said GM, the world’s largest auto maker, is likely to take more painful steps to downsize operations in the future as its dominance of the U.S. car market continues to slip.

“I think you’re going to see a smaller company. I think down the road they will close several assembly plants and lose, either through attrition or layoffs, a lot of white-collar workers,” said Peter Brown, editor of Automotive News.

GM confirmed Wednesday that it will lay off more than 2,000 workers at two plants that make its compact Chevrolet Corsica and Beretta models because of weak sales.

In the past week, it has announced production cuts and effectively eliminated about 6,300 line jobs to cut inventories as industrywide sales slump. Twenty-eight of its 34 North American assembly plants will close for several days in January, analysts said.

Although rivals Chrysler Corp. and Ford Motor Co. are also suffering, GM is faring worse because its designs are failing to excite consumers and its costs are too high, analysts said.

“In terms of the American market, GM is never going to be what it once was,” Brown said. “They continue to be the high-cost producer . . . and there are too many tough competitors.”

GM officials could not immediately be reached to comment. The auto maker’s stock was down 62.5 cents at $42.25 in mid-afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.