General Motors Offering Buyouts To 18,000 North American Workers

General Motors is attempting to cut costs by offering buyouts to about 18,000 white-collar workers in North America, the Detroit News reports. The company made the offer Wednesday to salaried workers with 12 or more years of service. The buyouts are being offered to 18,000 of the 50,000 GM employees in North America and eligible North American employees have until Nov. 19 to opt into the voluntary severance program.

This comes on the same day that GM reported a $2.5 billion third-quarter profit. The company says in a prepared statement that although it is performing well, it wants to continue to reduce costs while the company and the economy are strong. It is not publicly releasing details of the offers.

The auto industry faces looming troubles such as slowing sales in the U.S. and China and higher steel and aluminum prices due to U.S. tariffs. GM has set a cost-savings target for this effort, though it is not releasing that specific target. The company says it will “evaluate the need to implement” any form of layoffs after it sees the results of the voluntary program and other cost reduction efforts.