General Motors Corp. has reached a tentative deal with striking workers who shut down 80 plants across the United States, the automaker said Wednesday.
More than 73,000 United Auto Workers members walked off the job Monday morning after contract talks broke down over issues of job security and health care.
GM said the new national contract, which is subject to union ratification and court approval, includes a historic agreement to establish an independent trust to cover the costs of retiree health care.
The automaker said the deal "paves the way for GM to significantly improve its manufacturing competitiveness, providing the basis for maintaining and strengthening its core manufacturing base in the United States."
"This agreement helps us close the fundamental competitive gaps that exist in our business," GM Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner said in a statement.
"The projected competitive improvements in this agreement will allow us to maintain a strong manufacturing presence in the United States along with significant future investments."
The strike forced the closure of at least one plant in Canada and could also have impacted plants in Mexico which supply parts to US facilities.
GM has been seeking concessions from labor as it undergoes a massive restructuring in the face of a steady loss of market share to Asian competitors.
This was the first strike at GM since 1998 -- when one lasting 53 days cost the automaker some two billion dollars -- and the first nationwide strike at GM since 1970.
GM has sufficient inventory of vehicles to meet short-term demand in its critical US market and significant cash reserves to cover the costs of a brief strike.
But the strike could have cost GM about 880 million dollars a week, estimated Deutsche Bank analyst Rod Lache.
