General Motors Company will lay off 100 workers and cut production at its Orion Assembly small-car plant in suburban Detroit because of slow sales, the company said.

This is in addition to the 160 layoffs GM announced last November at Orion Assembly.

US consumers continue to prefer SUVs and pickup trucks over sedans, particularly small ones, as gasoline prices remain low. The plant makes the Chevrolet Sonic and Buick Verano compact cars.

US sales of the Sonic through May were down 28.5 per cent from a year earlier and Verano sales were down 16 per cent.

A GM spokesman said the company needs to match supply with demand. GM executives have said often the company does not want to repeat the mistake of producing more vehicles than consumers are buying, which helped lead to the company's 2009 bankruptcy and restructuring.

The plant has about 1,580 hourly workers and 180 salaried positions. GM said the 260 workers to be laid off will be let go by the end of this year.

The assembly line will slow to produce fewer cars, but the GM spokesman did not reveal the production rates.

The Automotive News citing sources said the company would produce 20 per cent fewer cars.

US regular gasoline average price of $2.79 per gallon on Thursday was down from $3.65 a year ago, according to the AAA motor club.-Reuters