GM, Delphi May Be Near Labor Accord

General Motors Corp. and Delphi Corp. were close to an agreement with the United Auto Workers union on early-retirement incentives for tens of thousands of workers, people familiar with the talks said Friday.

A settlement may be announced in the next few days, one of the people said. An agreement would avoid a threatened strike that analysts have said could force GM to file for bankruptcy protection.

GM, the world’s largest automaker, announced plans in November to eliminate 30,000 factory jobs in North America by 2008, partly through early retirements. The Detroit-based company posted a loss of $10.6 billion in 2005, a figure it revised Thursday from a previously reported $8.6 billion, citing charges associated with its restructuring, its GMAC finance arm and Delphi’s own bankruptcy filing.

Delphi Chief Executive Steve Miller plans to ask a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge to allow the company to cancel contracts March 31 if it and its union are unable to agree on cuts in wages and jobs by that point. Delphi, the largest U.S. auto parts maker and a former unit of GM, failed to get union concessions before filing for bankruptcy protection in October.

Miller said he needed to cut hourly wages at the Troy, Mich.-based company to $12.50 from $27, reduce his U.S. workforce to 10,000 from about 33,000 and require workers to pay more for healthcare. Delphi workers have threatened to strike if the court agrees to allow Miller to void the contract and the company imposes new terms.

“Talks are constructive, and progress is being made,” said Paul Krell, a union spokesman. He declined to comment on whether a settlement was close. Delphi spokesman Lindsey Williams and GM spokeswoman Katie McBride said they had no comment on a possible agreement.

The Wall Street Journal reported Friday on its website that the parties were near an agreement.

A settlement on early retirements would still leave a variety of difficult issues facing the UAW and Delphi, including how many U.S. factories the parts supplier would keep and how much workers in remaining factories would be paid, one of the people familiar with the talks said.

Shares of GM fell $1.09 to $21.13 on Friday, a day after the automaker delayed filing its annual report with securities regulators and said the 2005 loss was wider than it reported in January. The stock has gained 8.8% this year.