Last week the board of directors of General Motors voted to give a seat to Jerry York, a senior advisor to billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian and a former chief financial officer known for his drastic cost-cutting measures at Chrysler Corporation and International Business Machines. Kerkorian is a Las Vegas casino mogul who owns nearly 10 percent of the automaker's stocks. The GM board also voted at its February 6 meeting to accelerate the "turnaround" strategy of job cuts and reductions in workers' health and retirement benefits, as demanded by Kerkorian. GM capped salaried retiree health benefits at 2006 levels starting in January, affecting roughly 100,000 white-collar retirees and about 25,000 employees who have yet to retire. Next year GM will "reassess" medical benefits for white-collar retirees and consider the imposition of higher monthly contributions, deductibles, coinsurance and other options, according to the Detroit Free Press. The company said it will freeze the accrual of pension benefits for salaried workers next month and will probably replace GM's traditional defined benefit plan with a cash balance or a 401(k) plan that would put more of the burden for retirement savings on workers. Late last year GM imposed unprecedented healthcare takeaways on active and retired United Auto Workers members and announced plans to wipe out 30,000 jobs by 2008, eliminating shifts or carrying out closures at a dozen plants in Michigan, Georgia, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Ontario, Canada.
The GM board also voted at its February 6 meeting to accelerate the "turnaround" strategy of job cuts and reductions in workers' health and retirement benefits, as demanded by Kerkorian.
GM capped salaried retiree health benefits at 2006 levels starting in January, affecting roughly 100,000 white-collar retirees and about 25,000 employees who have yet to retire. Next year GM will "reassess" medical benefits for white-collar retirees and consider the imposition of higher monthly contributions, deductibles, coinsurance and other options, according to the Detroit Free Press.
The company said it will freeze the accrual of pension benefits for salaried workers next month and will probably replace GM's traditional defined benefit plan with a cash balance or a 401(k) plan that would put more of the burden for retirement savings on workers.
Late last year GM imposed unprecedented healthcare takeaways on active and retired United Auto Workers members and announced plans to wipe out 30,000 jobs by 2008, eliminating shifts or carrying out closures at a dozen plants in Michigan, Georgia, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Ontario, Canada.
