17,398 hourly workers take GM buyout

17,398 hourly workers take GM buyout
http://tinyurl.com/6n9zf5

General Motors Corp. will usher out 17,398 hourly workers through buyout
offers and retirement incentives rolled out this spring, according to a
final count of departing employees released today by the automaker.

GM last month said about 19,000 workers opted for one of the packages,
which included 1,259 who had already retired and were eligible
retroactively. Workers had a week to change their minds after taking an
offer.

Most workers will be gone by July 1.

Nearly half those leaving -- about 8,500 -- are from Michigan factories.
The Flint area alone is set to lose 1,800 workers.

GM extended the offers to all 74,000 United Auto Workers-represented
employees in the U.S. as part of a plan to move out highly paid veterans
and replace them with lower-wage new hires.


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