GM working to cut deal w/ UAW to slash its labor costs

Move could affect thousands of veteran workers

Company wants senior employees to leave so lower-paid second-tier workers can move into their positions

Offers may come just before Christmas instead of waiting for next year, as was expected earlier

Automaker under huge pressure to cut costs amidst weakening car and truck sales

GM sales fell 6% for year through Nov

2008 sales expected to be flat or worse compared w/ this year

Up to 56K of GM's 74.5K blue-collar workers could retire by 2011

Many replacements will fall into the lower-wage tier

New worker in lower-tier job will cost GM $25.65 in wages and benefits

Under one-third of the $78.31 it presently spends

"GM would prefer to have this wrapped up right now, but these things can take time. This was such a large shift that they are proceeding more cautiously on a local level." -- Harley Shaiken, labor professor, UC Berkeley

"They [GM] want to get these things settled. But these are complicated agreements -- asking people to do thing quite different than they way they have done things in the past." -- David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research, Ann Arbor, MI