The Economy

GM Trimming its Skilled Trades Workforce

Dec. 14, 2010

Automaker is offering buyouts to approximately 2,000 skilled trades employees.

In an effort to reduce headcount in its skilled trades employment ranks, General Motors Co. is offering buyouts to roughly 2,000 skilled workers at 14 GM plants.

The automaker is offering each worker $60,000 to leave by March 2011.

GM will notify the workers between now and Dec. 23, which is the automaker's last workday of 2010.

Skilled trades workers who are retirement-eligible can take the buyout and retire with full benefits, while those who aren't retirement-eligible would forfeit their benefits for accepting the cash, GM spokesman Chris Lee told IndustryWeek.com.

"They would just leave GM as a 'voluntary quit,'" Lee said of those workers who aren't retirement-eligible.

Most of the plants involved in the buyout program have closed or are scheduled to close, Lee said.

Skilled trades workers at GM, such as electricians, millwrights, toolmakers and carpenters, must go through apprenticeship programs to learn their trades.

About the Author

Josh Cable | Former Senior Editor

Former Senior Editor Josh Cable covered innovation issues -- including trends and best practices in R&D, process improvement and product development. He also reported on the best practices of the most successful companies and executives in the world of transportation manufacturing, which encompasses the aerospace, automotive, rail and shipbuilding sectors.

Josh also led the IndustryWeek Manufacturing Hall of Fame, IW’s annual tribute to the most influential executives and thought leaders in U.S. manufacturing history.

Before joining IndustryWeek, Josh was the editor-in-chief of Penton Media’s Government Product News and Government Procurement. He also was an award-winning beat reporter for several small newspapers in Northeast Ohio.

Josh received his BFA in creative writing from Bowling Green University, and continued his professional development through course-work at Ohio University and Cuyahoga Community College.

A lifelong resident of the Buckeye State, Josh currently lives in the Tremont neighborhood of Cleveland. When the weather cooperates, you’ll find him riding his bike to work, exercising his green thumb in the backyard or playing ultimate Frisbee.