With gas prices going up and truck sales going down, GM has announced that it is eliminating one shift of production at its full-size pickup truck assembly plants in Pontiac and Flint, Michigan, and Oshawa, Ontario. Also, its full-size SUV assembly plant in Janesville, Wisconsin will be affected by the shift cuts. The decisions were made to bring production capacity more in line with market demand.

Around 88,000 units of full-size pickup and 50,000 units of full-size SUV production will be removed from GM’s North American production capacity for the remainder of the 2008 calendar year.

The full-size pickup truck and full-size SUV segments have taken a hit lately throughout the entire industry. Nonetheless, GM remains the segment leader, with nearly 40 percent share of full-size trucks and more than 63 percent share in the full-size SUV market.

“With rising fuel prices, a softening economy, and a downward trend on current and future market demand for full-size trucks, a significant adjustment was needed to align our production with market realities,” said Troy Clarke, president GM North America. “This is a difficult move, but we remain committed to retaining and growing our leadership position in the full-size truck market.”

Clarke did note though, that with the market shifting more toward cars and crossovers, GM is seeing strong sales of the new Chevrolet Malibu, Cadillac CTS, Chevrolet Cobalt, Pontiac G6, Chevrolet Impala, Buick Enclave and GMC Acadia.