Washington - Rick Wagoner, head of the world's largest auto producer General Motors Corp, plans to publicly announce Tuesday morning new measures to counter the effect of soaring gas prices.

The moves could include more cuts in the salaried workforce and changes in production schedules, Bloomberg financial news service reported, citing unnamed people familiar with the plans.

GM is battling a 16-per-cent decline in US sales this year, with sale of gas-guzzling pickups, SUVs and vans dropping 21 per cent. There was better news abroad, with overall sales in GM's Latin America-Africa-Middle East region up 18 per cent in the second quarter, GM said Monday.

Wagoner is expected to address his workforce before publicly airing the strategy. Bloomberg reported that the plans could include early retirement incentives and changes in future plant capacity, and that Wagoner could address the automaker's liquidity situation.

The move will be GM's second in six weeks in response to gasoline prices that have soared 39 per cent since February. In June, Wagoner said GM would close four truck plants by 2010 to eliminate 700,000 units while concentrating on more fuel-efficient passenger cars.

Since Wagoner became chief executive officer in June 2000, GM has cut its US salaried workforce to 32,000 from 44,000. (dpa)