General Motors announced on Thursday that 7,631 of its United Auto Worker employees have accepted the company’s offer for early retirement and buyout packages. That figure represents about 12 percent of the automaker’s hourly workforce.
Although not all 7,631 employees will be replaced, many of the vacant spots will be filled by new hires for about $14 per hour – roughly half of what GM currently pays its UAW employees. The pay reduction should help GM with its turnaround plan.
“This is a significant milestone of progress towards our restructuring plan,” GM Spokesman Tony Sapienza told The Detroit News. “There is more work to do, but this will help us become leaner and stronger.”
Not surprisingly, GM’s Janesville, Wisconsin truck plant saw the most takers, with 624 workers accepting GM’s buyout plan. The Janesville plant is scheduled to be shutdown in 2010.
GM extended its buyout offer to all 62,000 of its hourly workers. Of the 7,631 takers, 53 percent were from factories in Michigan.
