April 5, 2023: Nearly 5,000 white-collar workers at General Motors opted to participate in a buyout program announced last month to lower the automaker’s global headcount and fixed costs.

GM CFO Paul Jacobson said the automaker expects to take around $1 billion charge during the quarter due to the program. The headcount reduction was part of the company’s plans to slash $2 billion in structural costs over the next two years.

Jacobson state that the opt-in rate for the “Voluntary Separation Program,” or VSP, aligned with company expectations and put GM “in a position” to avoid layoffs.

“I think we are in a position where we will be able to do that,” Jacobson said Tuesday during a BofA Securities conference.

GM CEO Mary Barra in the previous month said if not enough employees took part in the program, involuntary actions must be taken.

The voluntary buyouts were offered to a majority of the firm’s 58,000 U.S. white-collar employees. To qualify for the program, salaried employees must have worked at the business for five years as of June 30 this year. For executive-level workers, the qualification was two years worked.

“This was a tool to start accelerating the attrition curve; got a quick payback,” Jacobson stated.

GM stated that the $2 billion cost-cutting program in January, saying 30% and 50% of the savings were anticipated during 2023. At the time, executives stated they were planning headcount reductions through attrition instead of layoffs.

Jacobson said Tuesday that GM would likely come in on the “higher end” of that range. “We feel such as we’ve gotten off to a perfect start on it,” he said.

GM will offer additional details regarding the buyout program during its first-quarter earnings call.

Shares of the firm were down about 2% in mid-morning trading.