General Motors confirmed rumors of a plan to cut its white collar workforce by nearly 15 percent or some 5,000 employees as a way to help the struggling automaker save $10 billion in operating costs by the end of 2009.
The job cuts will be made via early retirement offers, to be sent out to the salaried employees by August, and a decision deadline of September or October, says a Detroit News report. The unnamed spokesperson also made it clear that some departments will see larger cuts than others.
Other measures the auto giant is taking to trim costs include stopping retirement health benefits coverage for employees over 65 as of January 1, 2009 as well as not giving pay raises to white collar workers until the end of 2009.
The company will use its bloated pension plan to buy out early retirement workers, with 40 employees in the media relations department getting the offer, with a plan to pare it down by 17 jobs.
Since 2000, GM has cut 12,000 of its salaried workers, which makes this 5,000 employee cut in just one year a significant one.
