Some 47,600 unionized employees ? 35,000 from GM alone ? have accepted the buyout proposed by the car company and its longtime partner, the Delphi Corporation. This exodus will reduce the number of GM's hourly employees by a third by the end of the year, and could allow them to reach their downsizing goals two years ahead of schedule. However, the company claims that this development will not cause the rate of plant closings to accelerate.
See "47,600 Take Offer of Buyouts at G.M. and Delphi", Nick Bunkley, The New York Times, June 26, 2006