GM makes retirement offers to salaried workers

[Hurricane]

GM makes retirement offers to salaried workers
Friday August 29, 12:50 pm ET
GM offers early retirement incentives to salaried workers under plan to cut white-collar jobs

DETROIT (AP) -- General Motors Corp. has started to offer early retirement packages to selected white-collar workers as part of a plan to cut 15 percent of its salaried jobs in the U.S. and Canada.

GM spokesman Dan Flores said Friday that the offers will be made to workers in areas where the company is seeking to trim its work force. GM would not release details of the packages, how many workers will get the offers, or what areas the company will target for reductions.

"There are certain criteria that impact which salaried employees are eligible for the window retirement," Flores said. "Among these criteria are the eligibility to retire under existing retirement provisions as well as management determination of where reductions are most appropriate based on business needs."

Workers who accept the offers will retire by Nov. 1, Flores said.

GM in July announced its intent to cut its salaried work force by around 5,100 as part of a larger plan to slash billions of dollars in costs and help the automaker ride out a slump in U.S. sales.

As part of the $15 billion cost-cutting and cash-raising plan, the automaker said it would cut thousands of salaried and hourly jobs, sell assets, suspend its dividend and eliminate health care for salaried retirees over age 65. GM said it would cut white-collar costs in the U.S. and Canada by more than 20 percent.

GM's cuts are part of a multiyear downsizing as the company struggles to adjust to shrinking U.S. auto sales and a change in consumer preferences from trucks and SUVs to more fuel efficient vehicles.

GM had 44,000 U.S. salaried workers in 2000; that dropped to 32,000 by the end of last year. The company's U.S. hourly work force dropped by more than half to 57,000 last year, and an additional 19,000 hourly workers took buyouts this summer.

More here: http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080829/gm_ea...ment.html?.v=1

[tom3]

Will the last guy out please turn out the lights?

[tgagneguam]

I still hold out for the hope that one day GM will realize that it has all the resources it needs to effectively compete and that it will eventually figure out that it's the proper deployment of those resources-and not chopping them away simply to make next quarter's financials look prettier for WS-that will allow a resurgence of the General.

It truly is painful to watch [mis-]Management chop away at GM and leave it a shadow of its former awesome self.