On June 27th, General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner reportedly sent out this memo to managers and executives. It discusses some plans for the automaker, but he completely avoids the real issues facing the company. Like the fact that they’re considering laying off thousands more people…

GM Leaders:

Like each of you, I see a steady stream of media coverage and receive lots of questions about the continued challenges that GM and all automakers in the U.S. are facing. The rapid rise in fuel prices and change in auto industry sales mix have made market and economic conditions very challenging. We’re responding quickly and aggressively with a steady stream of actions to better position GM for sustainable profitability and growth, including:

A new global compact car program for Chevrolet, a next generation for the popular Chevy Aveo, and a high efficiency engine module for the U.S. market.

Funding for production of the Chevy Volt extended-range electric vehicle.

Addition of third shifts to our plants in Lordstown, Ohio and Orion, Michigan which build hot-selling Chevy and Pontiac cars.

Cessation of production at four plants that build pickups, SUVs and medium-duty trucks.

A strategic review of the Hummer brand.

Beyond these initiatives, our GMNA team continues to develop further action plans to optimize our operating structure under these new market conditions, improve our cash and funding position and keep our key product and technology investments on track.

While sales conditions in the U.S. are tough, it’s important to remember that we’re producing the best vehicles we’ve ever built. We’re demonstrating our ability to anticipate consumer demand, with 11 of GM’s 13 latest U.S. product launches, and 18 of our next 19 launches, cars and crossovers. We continue to develop and bring to market advanced propulsion technologies that respond to higher energy prices. And, while all this hard work goes on in the U.S., GM’s demonstrated ability to win in the rapidly growing emerging markets continues to be an important factor in our future growth and success.

I’ve been asked frequently by employees, “What can I do to help in these challenging times?” As simple as it sounds, what helps most is for each of us to stay focused on our jobs, and especially on what each of us can do to conserve and generate cash. And just as important, I encourage you to be positive about the future of our enterprise.

Thanks for your ongoing support as we deal proactively and aggressively with the challenging conditions in the U.S. market. Rick

Independent corroboration: Reuters