NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- There has been progress in talks aimed at reaching a new labor agreement that could avoid a crippling strike at bankrupt auto parts maker Delphi and shutdown of operations at General Motors, according to a Delphi spokesman.

The progress in ongoing talks is the reason that there was yet another delay in the bankruptcy court hearing originally set for Thursday afternoon on Delphi's request to void its labor agreements, said Delphi (Charts) spokesman Lindsey Williams.

Williams said that the various parties are set to meet in a non-public status conference with U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Robert Drain on Thursday afternoon, at the time originally set for a hearing on Delphi's motion.

How that status hearing goes will determine if there will be a public hearing on Delphi's motion Friday morning, Williams said.

"There have been productive discussions with all of the constituents," Williams said. "I'm not in position to say when and where progress was made or on what issues. We have several unresolved issues that need to be brought to resolution."

Spokesmen for the United Auto Workers union and GM (Charts) were not immediately available for comment on the latest delay Thursday.

Delphi has been seeking deep wage cuts and other labor cost savings from the union members at the company.

The union has threatened to strike Delphi if the court allows it to dump the contracts and cut pay and benefits to union members. A strike at Delphi would quickly halt production at GM due to lack of necessary parts from its largest supplier.

Some analysts have suggested a prolonged shutdown at GM could in turn even lead to a bankruptcy filing at the No. 1 automaker, although GM officials have repeatedly said they have no plans to file for bankruptcy and expect an agreement to be reached.

GM, which also has contract obligations to its former employees at Delphi, is expected to contribute financially to any agreement between Delphi and the unions.

The hearing on the Delphi motion has been postponed several times, most recently on Aug. 10, as the parties held continued discussions on a labor agreement.

The UAW posted a statement on its Web site at the time of the last delay saying, "The talks were at best disappointing."

The UAW, GM and Delphi reached an agreement earlier this year to have GM offer enhanced retirement or severance packages to nearly 15,000 UAW members at Delphi as a way of trimming labor costs. About 85 percent of those who got offers took them and left the company.

"In the eyes of the UAW, this altered the economic landscape of the discussions," said the union statement of a week ago. "Delphi however has not changed the basic proposal offered last November with regard to any long-term commitment to jobs in this country.

"While the UAW and GM have made significant efforts to resolve the issues, Delphi has continued to insist that workers and communities must suffer while their executives reap bonuses and GM pays the bills," the union statement continued.

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