GM To Begin Laying Off 4,000 White Collar Workers Today

Today is not a pleasant day if you're a white collar employee at General Motors. Last Friday, reports came out that GM would begin significant layoffs on their white-collar workforce. 

Back in November, GM announced that it would be slashing 8,000 white-collar workers as part of plans to reduce costs. Already, 2,250 workers have agreed to voluntary buyouts. This leaves 5,750 workers waiting to be cut. But a GM spokesman Pat Morrissey said the number of people being laid off will be roughly around 4,000 people. Morrissey also confirmed that the layoffs will take around two weeks to complete.

"This will be implemented staff-by-staff and location-by-location over the next couple of weeks. We’re not going to get into which departments and when and where it’s happening. Some staffs have already implemented this over the last few weeks, but there’s more of it this week and next week," said Morrissey to the Detroit Free Press.

Various unnamed GM employees have told the Free Press they have been told about the cuts either by leadership or through email. One unnamed employee said the cuts were to begin at 9:30 A.M. and continue till 6:30 P.M.

The severance package being offered to workers will depend on how long they worked at GM. According to Automotive News, those who have worked at the company for 12 or more years will get a similar package to those who took the voluntary buyouts late last year - executives got a full- year of pay, while non-executives got six months. Health care benefits would be continued as part of the package.

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required), Detroit Free Press