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Report: GM may soon detail job cuts
Up to four assembly plants could be targeted as firm details plans to trim 25,000 posts, paper says.
November 18, 2005: 7:39 AM EST
GM Chairman and CEO could detail which plants face closure by 2008 as soon as next week.
GM Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner could detail which plants face closure by 2008 as soon as next week.

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - General Motors could announce which plants are on the chopping block as early as next week as it details previously-announced plans to shave 25,000 hourly jobs by 2008, according to a published report.

The Detroit News reports that the embattled auto manufacturer could detail up to four assembly plants that would be closed as well as well as shutting some stamping operations and eliminating shifts at other plants across the country.

GM announced broad plans in June to trim 25,000 out of 111,000 union-represented jobs at its U.S. plants, although its contract with the United Auto Workers union includes pay guarantees that essentially stops it from cutting jobs until the current labor pact expires in September 2007.

The newspaper reports it is unclear is how many salaried jobs could be affected by restructuring plans.

The company said earlier this year it expected attrition to take care of much of the staff cuts rather than layoffs, as the News reports that 36,000 of the U.S. union members at the company are already eligible for retirement. Attrition among hourly workers had been running about 5 percent annually.

The News reports that the timing of the restructuring plan details depends on continuing talks with the UAW, but that the announcement could come before Thanksgiving.

GM executives have been seeking to assure Wall Street that it getting a handle on losses that have trimmed more than a third of its stock value over the last five months. Wednesday the stock recouped some of its recent losses when GM Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner wrote in a note on an internal company Web site that it was "just plain wrong" to talk about the auto manufacturer filing for bankruptcy court protections.

"The large losses at GMNA (GM North America) are unsustainable, for sure, and require a comprehensive strategy to address them ... a strategy that must be implemented promptly and effectively, to get our U.S. business profitable again," Wagoner said in the note.

A GM spokesman would not confirm that an announcement on the plant closing plans is imminent.

"Getting our plant capacity in line is one more key part of our turnaround plan, and ... we will make a detailed announcement before the end of the year," GM spokesman Brian Akre told the newspaper. "It's a critical next step and we are working on it with a sense of urgency."

For a look at how a GM is being battered by a perfect storm of bad news, click here.  Top of page

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