General Motors is a U.S. automaker founded by William C. Durant, based in Detroit, Michigan, and is the world's second-largest automaker, as ranked by global unit sales for 2008. GM had led in global sales for 77 consecutive years (1931 to 2007), longer than any other automaker. It manufactures cars and trucks in 34 countries. GM employs 244,500 people around the world, and sold and serviced vehicles in some 140 countries. On July 10, 2009, GM reported 88,000 U.S. employees, and announced plans to reduce its U.S. workforce to 68,000 by the end of 2009 due to economic conditions. In 2008, 8.35 million GM cars and trucks were sold globally under the brands Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Opel, Vauxhall, Holden, Pontiac, Hummer, Saab, Saturn and Wuling.