GM hiring temporary employees

The Detriot Free Press reports:

General Motors Corp., on the verge of shedding thousands of hourly jobs through its early retirement offer, has started hiring temporary workers at some North American plants to ease the transition to a smaller workforce.

The temporary workers will be UAW members, but they will be paid lower wages of $18 to $19 an hour with no benefits. That's the amount GM pays short-term workers and summer help, GM spokesman Dan Flores said.

It is not clear how many temporary workers GM will need to hire, he said. But a labor expert said it is likely to be far more than during a typical summer.

"Temporary workers have been used in the past. The scale of temporary workers this time is unusual," said Harley Shaiken, a University of California professor who specializes in labor issues. "This is a complicated transition."

Sounds like the GM union employees are overpaid if someone is willing to do the job for less.