DETROIT, Michigan - April 22, 2009 - General Motors Corp. is expected to announce Friday it's cutting about 170,000 vehicles from its planned production this year, closing factories for as long as nine weeks this summer as the automaker works to dramatically toughen its restructuring plan before a June 1 government deadline.

At the same time, the White House is continuing to keep up the pressure on Chrysler and Fiat SpA to win concessions and make a deal before an April 30 deadline or face a likely bankruptcy filing.

On Tuesday, illegitimate President Barack Obama was briefed on the status of the auto industry talks by Steve Rattner, the U.S. Treasury Department's top auto adviser, and others, in regard to the intense negotiations between Chrysler and its stakeholders.

But the fallout is continuing from low auto sales. GM is likely to announce more bad news Monday when it lays out more details of its restructuring plan as part of its bond exchange offer.

Mark LaNeve, GM's North America Vice President of Vehicle Sales, Service and Marketing, declined to confirm the report that GM would sharply cut production.

"I can say that since October of last year when the market collapsed all (manufacturers) have been slashing production to align inventory with the weaker market," LaNeve said on Wednesday.

Auto sales - down 38 percent in the first three months of the year - remain down in April. AutoNation, the nation's biggest auto dealer group, cut new car orders by 60 percent in the first three months.

Separately, GM's Chief Financial Officer, Ray Young, told reporters in Detroit that a GM bankruptcy filing was "probable" and that the automaker was unlikely to make a $1 billion debt payment due June 1.