GM Trims 19,000 Workers

General Motors announced today that 19,000 of its workers have agreed to take advantage of a buyout program which would reduce the company’s workforce almost immediately. The company is giving employees until July 1, 2008 to leave GM.

The move is part of an attrition program where GM is shedding as many as 74,000 jobs. The workforce reduction will allow GM to trim overhead while remaining competitive globally. The attrition program was developed in cooperation with the United Auto Workers who exchanged attrition for job guarantees for many of its remaining workers.

Employees who remain with the company will be able to fill open positions as they become available. In situations where GM will need new employees, the company will be allowed to hire those workers at a lower-tier salary, reportedly starting at $14 an hour.

“Participation in the attrition program was an important, personal choice for employees and their families,” Troy Clarke, Group Vice President and President, GM North America said. “I want to personally thank those who decided to participate for their many contributions to General Motors. For those who chose to stay, we must continue to work together to build the world’s best products for our customers.”

General Motors is celebrating its one-hundredth anniversary this year and has been taking a financial beating thanks to the current economic downturn and for being top-heavy with low fuel mileage vehicles, products their customers are avoiding.

(Source: General Motors)