Hughes Offering Stock Options to Employees

Hughes Electronics Corp. said it’s giving about 14,000 employees stock options to promote teamwork following its reorganization into a communications company by parent General Motors Corp. Hughes, the provider of the 185-channel DirecTV television broadcast system, will give employees the chance to purchase 100 Hughes shares at $43.56 each, the average of Thursday’s high and low share price. Employees can’t exercise the options for two years. El Segundo-based Hughes is the telecommunications and space unit of Detroit-based GM, the world’s largest car maker. The program, called Stock Up On Hughes, will be available to most employees who receive benefits. Part-time workers who don’t receive benefits and executives who already had stock option plans will be excluded. Shares in Hughes Electronics are traded as General Motors Class H shares. They rose $2 to close at $44.38 on the NYSE.