UAW president: Many GM workers will take buyouts
DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) - February 14, 2008 But the estimate is lower than what it would have been in better
economic times, he said.
GM is offering buyout or early retirement packages to all 74,000
of its UAW-represented workers.
GM won't say how many workers it hopes to shed or how much it
expects the buyouts to cost, but under its new contract with the
UAW, it will be able to replace up to 16,000 workers doing
non-assembly jobs with new employees who will be paid half the old
wage of $28 per hour.
GM, Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC all are in the midst of
offering buyout and early retirement packages to their UAW hourly
workers and all three have provisions in their contracts allowing
them to replace at least some of the workers with those making far
less money.
Gettelfinger said Ford likely will be able to hire second-tier
wage workers after its round of buyouts this year, but Chrysler may
not be hiring replacement workers.
Ford will offer packages to all 54,000 of its hourly workers as
it tries to close or sell some former Visteon Corp. parts plants,
eliminate workers who are paid most of their salaries while on
layoff and then hire the lower-paid workers. Ford officials won't
say how many workers they expect to take the packages, but said
about 12,000 are eligible for retirement.
Chrysler is trying to cut up to 21,000 of its 45,000 U.S.
manufacturing jobs, giving workers on temporary or indefinite
layoff up to $100,000 to sever ties with the company.
Offers from the other two vary, but are similar to Chrysler's.
Gettelfinger said the union has not discussed with GM the
possible use of pension funds to help struggling parts maker Delphi
Corp. emerge from bankruptcy protection.
"We would be very cautious about that," he said.
Gettelfinger spoke to reporters in Dearborn after accepting the
Crain's Detroit Business Newsmaker of the Year award.
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On the Net:
United Auto Workers: http://www.uaw.org
