DETROIT - General Motors Corp. says it will close its metal stamping plant near Grand Rapids, Mich., by the end of 2009, costing about 1,340 hourly jobs.

Workers at the 2-million-square-foot factory in the suburb of Wyoming were notified Monday afternoon.

The move comes as GM tries to cut costs in the middle of a U.S. sales slump and global financial crisis.

The automaker announced earlier Monday that it would end sport utility vehicle production at its Janesville, Wis., factory in December, which is earlier than previously announced. The plant will close in mid-2009.

Janesville is one of four pickup truck and SUV factories that the company said it will close. CEO Rick Wagoner said last month that GM had to make corresponding factory adjustments, especially in metal stamping.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

DETROIT (AP) - The U.S. automotive sales slump worked its way to Janesville, Wis., Monday when General Motors Corp. told workers that it would stop making sport utility vehicles at a factory there in December.

GM spokesman Chris Lee said SUV production at the plant, with 1,200 workers represented by the United Auto Workers, will end Dec. 23, earlier than GM had expected.

The Janesville plant also has a small- to medium-duty truck production line with 35 to 50 workers. They will keep working until they have filled an order for Isuzu Motors Ltd., which should take the plant through May or June, Lee said. Then the plant "will cease operations completely," he said.

Workers at the plant will get most of their pay from the company and unemployment benefits for up to two years under their union contract. They will have the option of transferring to other GM factories if jobs are open.

Most of the Janesville factory makes the GMC Yukon and the Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban large SUVs, and sales of those vehicles have plummeted with an increase in gasoline prices to around $4 per gallon earlier this year. Gas prices have subsided closer to $3 per gallon nationwide, but that has done little to boost sales.

"That segment is really shrinking, so we had to make the difficult decision to have this cessation," Lee said.

A state lawmaker held out hope that GM will get a new product line and stay open.

State Rep. Mike Sheridan, a Janesville Democrat and former plant union representative, said in a statement Monday that GM is still considering whether to bring a line of small cars to the facility.

Lee said those discussions continue but have no bearing on the decision to end SUV production.