Company to end employee discount for all buyers Sept. 30

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Friday, Sept. 9, 2005 | 9:43 a.m.

General Motors Corp., the world's biggest automaker, will stop offering employee discounts to all buyers Sept. 30 and turn to lower list prices to help it sell 2006 models after sales fell in August.

Dealers were notified of the decision Wednesday, GM spokeswoman Deborah Silverman said Thursday. The Detroit-based company used the employee discounts to post U.S. sales gains in June and July before a 13 percent decline last month. GM said Aug. 1 it would cut prices or add features at no extra cost on more than 50 of its 2006 models.

GM has been using employee discounts since June to clear bloated U.S. inventories of 2005 models and halt market share losses to competitors such as Toyota Motor Corp.