US-based General Motors Corp. (GM), the world's second largest automaker after Toyota, will lay off about 1,600 white-collar employees in the next few days as a cost-cutting step that could help the automaker qualify for more government aid. The company has started to notify the employees that they will lose their jobs.
The cuts will affect all areas of GM.
The automaker said in February it planned to cut 3,400 of its 29,500 US salaried employees, with the majority of cuts to be completed by May 1.
GM is working on a restructuring plan to avoid bankruptcy that will involve deeper cuts in a bid to convince the government to lend the automaker up to $16.6 billion more.
Under the terms of its federal loans, GM submitted a restructuring plan to the government in February that said it would close 14 of its 47 parts and assembly plants by 2012 - five more than previously planned. GM also said it would cut 47,000 more of its 244,000 employees worldwide.