DETROIT -- General Motors Corp. said yesterday it would lay off salaried workers, cut truck production, suspend its dividend and borrow $2 billion to $3 billion to weather a severe downturn in the U.S. market.

GM said the moves would raise $15 billion to help cover losses and turn around its North American operations, including $10 billion from internal cost-cutting and $5 billion from selling some assets and borrowing against others.

"In short, our plan is not a plan to survive. It is a plan to win," GM Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner said in a broadcast to employees.

Chief Operating Officer Fritz Henderson said GM wants to reduce its total salaried costs by more than 20 percent.

A large chunk of the reduction, he said, would come from cutting health-care benefits for salaried retirees over age 65. Those people would get a pension increase from the company's overfunded pension fund to help compensate for Medicare and supplemental insurance, the company said.

Several thousand jobs will be cut through normal attrition and retirements, and through early retirement and buyout offers, Mr. Henderson said. The company could resort to involuntary layoffs but does not want to, he said.

GM has 40,000 salaried employees in North America.

Mr. Henderson said 19,000 hourly workers have recently left the company through an attrition program, but even more cuts will be needed.

"These are going to be some pretty tough measures," he said.

Mr. Henderson said the company intends to reduce its truck production capacity by 300,000 units, 150,000 more than it announced at its annual meeting in June.

GM said it would suspend its $1 per share annual dividend immediately, which will improve liquidity by $800 million through 2009.

It's the first time the company has suspended its dividend since 1922.