DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Corp yesterday announced a plan to cut costs by $10 billion, suspend its common stock dividend and sell up to $4 billion in assets in a bid to shore up cash to survive a deep industry slump.

The restructuring, the second in the just past six weeks, is driven by high fuel prices, a shift away from trucks and SUVs, and the weakest US industry-wide auto sales in a decade.

The automaker said it would cut white-collar employment costs by 20 percent, a step expected to mean the loss of thousands of jobs among the 40,000 salaried workers GM employs in North America.

GM shares rose in premarket trade after the restructuring news but were down 30 cents to $9.08 in early dealings on the New York Stock Exchange.

Analysts said GM's plan addressed some of Wall Street's concerns about the pressure on the company's $24 billion in cash but cautioned that a full turnaround still hinged on a recovery in the US market.

"For now, this solves GM's liquidity issues, but we have to see better demand for automobiles, for cars and trucks, in order for the liquidity crisis to be put to bed," said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment officer at Solaris Asset Management in New York. "They're burning through about $3 billion in cash a quarter. The cash drain has to stop at some point or GM has larger problems."

GM said it expects to generate $10 billion in cash savings from operations through 2009. It said it could capture those savings through cutting white-collar jobs and some retiree health-care coverage, eliminating executive bonuses for 2008, reducing capital spending by $1.5 billion, and accelerating truck plant closures announced last month.

GM did not specify a target for job cuts. It said it would offer buy-outs and early retirement incentives to its white-collar workers, including the 33,000 employed in the United States.

The largest US automaker has been under intensifying pressure to cut costs and raise capital because of the deepening slump in US auto sales.

In early June, GM chief executive Rick Wagoner announced the company would close four North American truck plants employing about 100,000 workers and try to sell its Hummer brand in response to higher gas prices.

But market sentiment has darkened on GM and the auto sector in the weeks since that announcement, with most analysts no longer expecting a real recovery in US auto sales in 2009.