GM Employees Asked to Take Dec. 22, 23 Off

General Motors is still experiencing a very difficult period after the global economic crisis smashed its sales, with the board now requiring employees to take December 22 and December 23 off despite the two-week holiday already scheduled for next month. GM previously said that the company struggles to get off an “unprecedented economic and credit market turmoil,” so such as decision could help it preserve cash and reduce costs. And speaking of cash, Autonews reports that GM may encounter massive financial troubles in mid-2009, with chances to stop operating in case no funds are received until next year.

Getting back to GM employees' forced holiday, the American carmaker sent a letter on November 5 to workers at the Vehicle Engineering Center in suburban Detroit, informing them that December 22 and December 23 are now vacation days.

"We notified the employees last week that in our continued efforts to conserve cash we are asking employees to take two additional vacation days. It'll give us significant savings in utilities and facility expenses,” GM spokesman Dan Flores was quoted as saying by Autonews.

GM's engineering center currently employs between 16,000 and 17,000 workers, GM's spokesman added, and with approximately 266,000 employees worldwide. However, General Motors does not intend to reduce the activity of any manufacturing plant during December, with headquarters and factories to remain fully stuffed next month.

General Motors' sales are down on most markets, with the net quarterly loss estimated at approximately $2.5 billion, according to figures provided by the US-based carmaker. The third quarter brought only $16.2 billion in revenues, compared to $21 billion on June 30.