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

Posted on: Saturday, 11 February 2006, 13:38 CST

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.

Source: REUTERS

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