Report: GM may cut thousands more salaried jobs
Jamie LaReau
Automotive News
February 7, 2009 - 12:01 am ET
DETROIT -- General Motors is preparing to cut thousands more salaried jobs as part of a plan to show the government it can be a viable company, according to Bloomberg News.
According to Bloomberg, GM might match the 5,000 white-collar jobs it cut last year. The company would not confirm that figure. But a spokesman noted that as part of a plan submitted to Congress on Dec. 2, GM indicated it would make further reductions in salaried employees.
"The number that Bloomberg has is purely speculative," said Tom Wilkinson, a GM spokesman. "We have said that we plan to do further reductions in hourly and salary employees."
In the plan submitted Dec. 2, GM indicated that it ended 2008 with 96,537 hourly and salaried employees in the United States. The company said it plans to reduce that to 65,000 to 75,000 employees by 2012. That's about 7,000 to 10,000 jobs cut a year.
GM is scheduled to submit a viability plan to the government by Feb. 17 to keep the $9.4 billion in federal loans it has received so far.