As General Motors and Chrysler prepare their restructuring plans that have to be turned in to Congress on Feb. 17, GM may be preparing to lay off thousands of white collar salaried employees to match the layoffs in blue collar autoworkers. Bloomberg News reports:
 

General Motors Corp., trying to cut enough costs by a March 31 deadline to keep $13.4 billion in U.S. aid, is readying a plan to fire thousands of salaried employees, people familiar with the plans said.

The company will include the plans in a Feb. 17 progress report to the U.S. government, said the people, who asked not to be named because the plan isn’t public. The total may match the more than 5,000 salaried positions eliminated last year, the people said. GM started offering buyouts to 62,000 union workers this week and is in talks with the United Auto Workers about trimming benefits.

It’s hoped that these cuts in salaried employees will help the company get more concessions from the UAW to cut the cost of its hourly employees.