General Motors announces further crisis measures.

General Motors said on Thursday it would suspend production at its North American factories indefinitely, lay off 6,500 salaried employees and cut executive pay, signaling that the automaker believes that coronavirus will take a serious toll on its business.

“We are actively monitoring the situation and the possible impact of the crisis on consumer demand,” a G.M. spokesman, David Barnas, said. “When we can safely resume production, we will.”

G.M. and other automakers shut down their North American plants in the last few days in an effort to prevent the spread of the virus. Most had hoped to restart production next week, but have now scaled back those plans.