GM buyouts expected in April
By RAYMOND L. SMITH Tribune Chronicle
POSTED: January 19, 2008
LORDSTOWN — UAW Local presidents expect the buyout plan announced by GM Chief Executive and Chairman Rick Wagoner will not take place until the local agreements are completed.
“I don’t expect the buyouts to take place until the second quarter of the year,” UAW Local 1112 President James Graham said. “The buyout will basically be the same as the one that was offered in 2006.”
Graham expects a large number of Lordstown workers to take advantage of the buyouts.
However, the long-time local president does not expect the retirements to affect the number of employees working at the plant.
“What will happen is we will deplete the jobs bank and bring people in from other locations,” Graham said. “Once the jobs bank is empty, we will start bringing people from our referral list.”
Earlier this week, GM officials announced that all of its 78,000 workers will be offered some type of incentive to leave the company.
Dave Green, president of the 1,000 member UAW Local 1714, does not expect the buyout to take place until the local agreements are completed. The international union is expected to identify the core and the non-core issues in the local contract early next month.
In 2006, GM employees with 30 years of seniority got $35,000 to retire and received full pensions, while buyout incentives ranged from $70,000 to $140,000, depending on years of service.
GM shed 34,000 hourly workers in that program, but company officials said they have no employment-reduction target this time.
In 2006, the Lordstown plant went from 4,900 hourly workers to 3,700 hourly workers.
The Associated Press contributed to this story
rsmith@tribune-chronicle.com
