P.M. BRIEFING : Chrysler Acts to Avert Layoffs
<i> From Times Wire Services</i>
DETROIT —
Chrysler Corp. is offering a buyout for its union-covered employees with as little as one year seniority in an effort to avoid layoffs, a spokesman said today.
Spokesman Lee Sechler said 400 to 450 of about 60,000 Chrysler employees covered by a contract with the United Auto Workers union have signed up for the program.
He declined to say how much it has cost the company or to give details of the formula used to arrive at the amount of an individual’s buyout. Sechler said the computation would be based mainly on an employee’s seniority with Chrysler.
Chrysler began a $1.5-billion cost-cutting program in October that includes early retirement for some workers.
