GM offers U.S. employees voluntary separation program

To achieve $2 billion in cost savings, General Motors Co. is offering a voluntary separation program to its employees, the automaker confirmed Thursday.

The majority of the U.S. salaried workforce is eligible for the program. GM employs about 58,000. Eligible employees must sign up by March 24.

“As part of our plan to accelerate attrition and achieve $2 billion in cost savings by the end of 2024, General Motors is announcing a Voluntary Separation Program for all U.S. salaried employees with at least five years of service and all global executives with at least two years of service,” spokesperson David Barnas said in a statement. “This voluntary program offers eligible employees an opportunity to make a career change or retire earlier. We are offering three packages based on level and service to the company. Employees are strongly encouraged to consider the program. By permanently bringing down structured costs, we can improve vehicle profitability and remain nimble in an increasingly competitive market.”

Also as part of the cost-cutting measures, in late February the Detroit automaker said it was cutting about 500 executive-level and salaried jobs. The news came a month after CEO Mary Barra said General Motors Co. was “not planning layoffs.” 

“I do want to be clear that we’re not planning layoffs,” Barra said in late January. “We are limiting our hiring to only the most strategically important roles, and we’ll use attrition to help manage overall headcount.”

To achieve the $2 billion in cost savings, GM CFO Paul Jacobson said the company would focus on reducing “complexity in all of our products and reducing corporate overhead expenses across the board. I do want to be clear, though, we’re not planning layoffs. We are limiting our hiring to only the most strategically important roles and will use attrition to help manage overall headcount.” 

For 2023, GM anticipates adjusted earnings to be in the range of $10.5 billion to $12.5 billion for the year. Last year, the company booked record pre-tax earnings of $14.5 billion.