General Motors is to lay off 14,000 workers in North America and put five factories up for potential closure as it stops making some of its unpopular cars.

Some 3,600 production jobs will go in the US and 3,000 in Canada, as well as 8,100 white-collar roles.

It comes as the car giant restructures to cut costs and focus more on electric and autonomous vehicles.

Donald Trump said he had told the company's boss he is unhappy about the move – which runs counter to the US economy's strong job growth.

A quarter of a million new jobs were added in October, according to official figures.

Most of the at-risk factories make cars that will not be sold in America after 2019. They could get new vehicles to build or close altogether.

America's largest car maker said some workers would transfer to SUV and truck factories, which are increasing their output because of growing demand.

In October, nearly 65% of new vehicles sold in America were trucks or SUVs. It was about 50% cars just five years ago.

GM – whose brands include Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac and GMC – said the cuts would save $6bn (£4.68bn) by the end of next year.

Chief executive Mary Barra said the company must keep pace with the trend for electric and self-driving cars and that GM was still hiring people in those fields.

She said the firm was making the changes "to get in front of it while the company is strong and while the economy is strong".

The cuts will happen during the remainder of the year and the first quarter of 2019.

Among the plants that could shut is the Detroit/Hamtramck assembly plant – which makes low-demand vehicles such as the Chevrolet Impala and the Buick LaCrosse.

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The Lordstown, Ohio, plant could also go, with GM's boss saying the factory's production of the Chevrolet Cruze would stop on 1 March.

Transmission plants at Warren, Michigan, and in Baltimore are also affected; as is the Oshawa plant in Ontario in Canada which will stop making the Impala, Cadillac XTS and 2018 full-size pickups.

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