Reply #52: More than 20,000 GM workers accept buyouts-report

[UpInArms]

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-05-25T144151Z_01_N25288495_RTRIDST_0_AUTOS-GM-BUYOUTS-UPDATE-1.XML

DETROIT, May 25 (Reuters) - More than 20,000 blue-collar workers at General Motors Corp. (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) have accepted buyout offers, surpassing the automaker's internal target with a month to go before the deadline, the Detroit News reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the situation.

GM spokeswoman Katie McBride, while declining to comment on specific buyout numbers, said: "We are pleased with the acceptance rate so far."

The automaker, which made the offers to all 113,000 of its U.S. hourly workers, had expected 20,000 employees to come forward by the June 23 deadline, the sources told the newspaper.

GM will continue to offer buyouts to workers who sign up by the deadline as the the automaker plans to take as many buyouts as it can get, the sources said.

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GM is in the midst of a comprehensive restructuring, which includes closing a dozen plants and laying off 30,000 workers, to return its auto operations to profit.

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