Mumbai: Chrysler LLC is planning to cut up to 10,000 hourly jobs over the next 14 months as it does away with four slow-selling vehicles and trims overall production in North America.

The job cuts, that would affect over a fifth of Chrysler''s unionised workforce, followed a scrapped through ratification of a new contract with workers.

Chrysler said it would phase out shifts at five North American assembly plants and stop making the Dodge Magnum wagon, the convertible version of the PT Cruiser, the Pacifica crossover utility and the Crossfire sports car.

The layoffs are in addition to 13,000 jobs that Chrysler had already planned to cut as part of a restructuring plan. The job cuts when undertaken would be the deepest for any US automaker.

On a combined basis, Chrysler would be cutting almost half of its unionised workforce as part of a stepped-up restructuring plan since Chrysler''s new private equity owner, Cerberus Capital Management, took control in August.

Chrysler and Ford Motor Co have reported double-digit drops in October sales, lagging rivals in a slumping US market widely expected to remain under pressure into next year.

Chrysler posted a 12 per cent drop in monthly sales that was deeper than analysts had forecast.

Ford recorded a 13 per cent monthly decline, reflecting a cutback in low-margin sales to car rental agencies as part of its own ongoing restructuring aimed at restoring its US operations to profitability.

By contrast, Toyota Motor Corp snapped out of a quarterly slump to post a slight gain in US sales, eclipsing Ford to hold onto the No 2 spot in the world''s largest vehicle market.

Sales for industry-leader General Motors Corp were down almost one per cent for October.

Automakers attribute the downswing to a combination of factors like the slumping US housing market, higher gas prices and wildfires in California.