|
Mumbai:
Bankrupt auto parts maker Delphi Corporation plans
to retain and operate four plants under a tentative agreement
with the United Auto Workers, a document on the web site
run by its union members said.
The
United Auto Workers Union, meanwhile, ended efforts to
keep pay and benefits at the auto-parts maker the same
as at former parent General Motors Corp. UAW will brief
Delphi workers on a contract that ends the union''s eight-year
fight to keep wages, people familiar with the matter said.
The
agreement calls for former GM workers to take pay cuts
in exchange for bonuses of as much as $105,000 or buyouts
and allows Delphi to close or sell all but four of 18
US factories covered by the contract, the people said.
The UAW plans ratification votes at most Delphi plants
June 28, they said.
The
four plants to be owned and operated by Delphi are in
Kokomo, Indiana, Grand Rapids, Michigan, and in Rochester
and Lockport, both in New York state.
Troy,
Michigan-based Delphi would divest stake in another four
units on an ongoing basis and would wind down or consolidate
10 plants, according to the memorandum of understanding
posted on www.SoldiersofSolidarity.com .
The
accord at Troy, Michigan-based Delphi, GM''s largest supplier,
ends a two-year dispute that threatened the automaker
with a costly strike.
Delphi
had been looking for steep cuts in wages and benefits
as well as the flexibility to close or sell plants in
order to compete against low-wage parts suppliers from
China and elsewhere.
GM
has estimated its exposure to the Delphi restructuring
at $7 billion and said it could take a $1 billion charge
this quarter for a settlement. GM, which spun off Delphi
in 1999 and remains Delphi''s biggest customer, faces its
own labor talks with the UAW next month.
|