GM To Offer Buyouts To More Than 46,000 U.S. Hourly Workers

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Source: Detroit Free Press

General Motors Corp. will offer buyouts to more than half of its hourly workers as part of a plan to cut labor costs, Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner said during a presentation to analysts this afternoon.

Wagoner said the automaker would offer buyouts to the nearly 46,000 hourly workers who are already eligible to retire as part of efforts to take advantage of its new cost-cutting labor contract with the UAW. GM currently employs about 73,000 hourly workers.

GM could cut labor costs both by reducing its workforce and replacing some of its workforce with lower-paid workers, which is possible through a clause in the new contract that allows the automaker to hire a second tier of workers into non-core jobs at a lower wage and benefits rate.

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He also said that the upcoming contract bargaining with the Canadian Auto Workers union “presents an opportunity for us to improve our competitiveness in Canada.”




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