GM working with UAW on buyout plan

DETROIT, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- U.S. automaker General Motors Corp., saying it needs to cut costs, is looking to reach a deal with the United Auto Workers on a senior workers' buyout plan.

The automaker, suffering from a weak U.S. auto market, could begin extending offers before Christmas instead of waiting until early next year as initially thought, a source familiar with the negotiations told The Detroit News.

GM management said they hoped more senior workers would take the buyout so they can be replaced with lower-paid, second-tier workers, a key concession the automaker won in contract talks with the UAW.

The company is conducting negotiation with plant-level UAW locals, where, among other things, the second-tier pay system have yet to be worked out.

Under the two-tier system, pay levels are determined by the type of job workers have. Jobs considered critical to auto-building stay at the higher wage while non-core jobs would be at about half of the current average wage, the newspaper said.

GM, which lost $12 billion in 2005 and 2006, said it must reduce labor costs to compete against foreign competitors.