GM makes deal to sell Saab Automaker also will cut more white-collar jobs as it restructures By Robert Snell The Detroit News General Motors Corp. consistently lost money on Saab Automobile AB and ran out of cash as it was preparing to launch the next generation of vehicles at the Swedish automaker, GM President and CEO Fritz Henderson said Tuesday. Henderson's comments came in a wide-ranging Web chat with reporters hours after GM announced it had reached an agreement to sell Saab to Sweden's Koenigsegg Automotive AB, a low-volume luxury sports car maker. Financial terms were not disclosed. GM will continue to provide support for powertrain and other technologies, and Henderson said he expects GM will be asked to build the 9-4x compact crossover for Saab. Since filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, GM also has reached deals to sell Hummer and Saturn as part of the automaker's plan to focus on four core brands: Cadillac, Chevrolet, Buick and GMC Pontiac, meanwhile, will be phased out next year. Henderson also reiterated that GM will cut almost 35 percent of its executive management by the end of the year and 20 percent of its salaried work force . By the end of the year, GM will have about 23,500 U.S. salaried employees and a little more than 800 U.S. executives. The moves are part of GM's broad restructuring plan aimed at making the automaker more competitive in the global auto market, which has been brutalized by a dramatic decline in sales in recent months. Henderson said he expects June auto sales results will follow a trend of small monthly improvements. In May, GM sales fell 29 percent compared to a year earlier, but its market share inched up to 20.6 percent, from 19.2 percent a year earlier. 