GM Buys Out 7,500 UAW Workers, Chrysler Extends Buyout Deadline
March 26 2009 - 11:11AM
Dow Jones News
General Motors Corp. (GM) said Thursday 7,500 of its U.S. union
workers will take buyout offers and leave the company by April
1.
Chrysler LLC also said Thursday it will extend the
decision-making deadline for those union members offered
buyouts.
GM will fill job openings with current employees whenever
possible and hire new workers at entry-level wages, the company
said in a statement Thursday. The new hires will be determined on a
plant-by-plant basis.
Separately, Chrysler said U.S. United Auto Worker union members
are required to express interest on whether they will take a buyout
package by midnight Friday. However, workers won't be forced to
make a decision until after they review details of a new
cost-cutting accord Chrysler is currently attempting to hammer out
with the UAW.
The buyouts offered at both companies are part restructuring
plans outlined in the auto makers' bids to secure more low-interest
loans from the U.S. Department of Treasury. Both must submit a
report detailing their cost-cutting actions by March 31.
Shares of GM rose 11.4% to $3.33 in recent market trading
Thursday. Chrysler is privately held by Cerberus Capital Management
LP
-By Jeff Bennett, Dow Jones Newswires; 248-204-5542;
jeff.bennett@dowjones.com
(Wall Street Journal reporter John Stoll contributed to this
story)