GM and UAW in talks over jobs for Delphi workers: paper

CHICAGO (Reuters) – General Motors Corp. and the United
Auto Workers union are working on an early-retirement program
that would allow bankrupt auto parts maker Delphi Corp. to
shift workers back to the automaker, the Detroit Free Press
said on Saturday.

The buyout packages would create job openings for Delphi
workers, particularly at five GM assembly plants, the newspaper
said, citing an unidentified UAW local leader briefed by union
executives, and may help avert a UAW strike.

Without a deal, Delphi may ask the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in
New York to void its union contracts, slash worker pay and
benefits, close plants and cut jobs, the paper said.

UAW leaders have warned that any move to cut wages and jobs
would result in a strike against Delphi, which filed for
bankruptcy last October. GM spun off Delphi in 1999.

Spokesmen for GM, Delphi and the UAW declined to comment on
the progress of the talks, the paper said.

Merrill Lynch analyst John Murphy said in a Friday research
note that it looks increasingly likely that Delphi will file a
motion on February 17 asking the bankruptcy court to throw out
its current labor contracts with the UAW.

A UAW strike would quickly shut down many North American
plants at GM, which posted a $8.6 billion loss last year.
Murphy estimated that in about the first 60 days of a strike,
GM could burn through more than $8 billion in cash.

The world’s largest automaker recently said its
responsibility for benefits for GM hourly employees who
transferred to Delphi under the spin-off agreement could be
anywhere between $3.6 billion and $12 billion.

The five GM assembly plants are located in Arlington,
Texas; Fairfax, Kansas; Fort Wayne, Indiana; Wilmington,
Delaware; and Shreveport, Louisiana, the Detroit newspaper.