By Marcel Michelson

PARIS (Reuters) - General Motors Europe (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) is seeking to cut about a tenth of its European workforce in a new round of cost cuts as the top U.S. car maker aims to stem steep losses in declining main auto markets.

"What is on the table is a plan for 5,000 voluntary redundancies in west Europe," Jean-Marc Ruhland, a CFDT union member of the European works council at GM, told Reuters.

GM Europe employs some 55,600 staff after a previous round of job cuts in the European sector which also included the closure of a PSA Peugeot Citroen (PEUP.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) plant in Britain and cuts at Ford (F.N: Quote, Profile, Research).

BMW (BMWG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) also plans to shed jobs and Volkswagen (VOWG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) seeks to reduce labor costs.

Ruhland said some 260 jobs would go at the Strasbourg plant in eastern France, another 1,300 at Antwerp in Belgium, 900 at Bochum in Germany, 930 at Saragossa in Spain and some 300-500 at Russelsheim.

Labor unions from various countries will meet in Frankfurt on Thursday to coordinate actions but at the moment they are still in a negotiating phase.

"We want guarantees that there will be no plant closures in west Europe until at least 2020, we want that the departure premiums will be calculated on the same basis all over Europe with the same set of safeguards," he added.

GM Europe earlier this week confirmed there were talks with labor representatives but called reported numbers to be cut "very speculative."