Published: Friday, August 11, 2006
Delphi delays bankruptcy hearing
The buyouts would leave only about 400 workers at its local operations.
By DON SHILLING
Delphi Corp. said it has postponed today's bankruptcy hearing in New York to allow more time for contract negotiations and discussions with General Motors Corp.
The hearings on Delphi's request to cancel its union contracts are set to resume Thursday. They have been recessed since May.
Don Arbogast, shop chairman of Local 717 of the International Union of Electrical Workers, said this morning that no talks have been scheduled involving the IUE, which represents 3,800 hourly workers in the Mahoning Valley.
Delphi has said it needs cost-cutting concessions from its unions and financial help from GM, its former parent company.
As the IUE waits for those talks to resume, it is waiting to see how many hourly workers will be left at Delphi plants.
Arbogast said 3,385 workers at Warren-based Delphi Packard Electric have signed up to take buyout packages. That would leave Packard's local operations with only about 400 workers.
Packard had told workers that it wanted to cut staffing to 1,033.
"They will have a real problem," Arbogast said. "I guess we'll have to negotiate a solution."
Workers have until Wednesday to rescind the decision to take the buyouts. Arbogast said he expects some to change their minds but he didn't know how many would.
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