Dec. 18 (Bloomberg) -- General Motors Corp., the world's largest automaker, will begin offering buyouts to an additional 5,200 U.S. factory employees in January to create openings for lower-wage workers under its new labor contract.

The buyouts will be similar to packages last year that ranged from $35,000 to $140,000 for United Auto Workers union members willing to retire early or leave, Detroit-based GM said today in a statement. About 34,400 employees, or more than 30 percent of the workforce at the time, accepted those incentives.

Replacing senior workers with lower-paid employees will help Chief Executive Officer Rick Wagoner pare a $25- to $30-an- hour premium in labor costs compared with the U.S. manufacturing operations of Asian rivals such as Toyota Motor Corp. Wagoner is working to return GM to profitability after losses totaling $12.5 billion in 2005 and 2006.

``It's not surprising, with industry sales volumes and production contracting next year, that they would want to reduce headcount,'' fixed-income analyst Pete Hastings at Morgan Keegan & Co. in Memphis, Tennessee, said in an interview. ``The acceptance rate should be lower this time, but it's definitely money well spent.''

GM spokesman Dan Flores wouldn't say how much the automaker expects the buyouts will cost, or the number of workers projected to accept. UAW spokesman Roger Kerson declined comment.

Pushed Into Buyouts?

The automaker may compel 1,900 hourly employees to accept buyouts for an annual savings of roughly $190 million, Lehman Brothers analyst Brian Johnson said in a note. He predicted 11,000 GM union employees would accept buyout offers in 2008.

GM gained 54 cents, or 2.1 percent, to $26.93 at 4:22 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares have declined 12 percent this year.

The buyouts will be offered to union employees at plants in Pittsburgh and Massena, New York, as well as all 23 U.S. service and parts operations, GM said in the statement.

Also eligible for buyouts are workers in GM's so-called jobs bank, which pays union employees when jobs aren't available in a manufacturing plant, at facilities in Oklahoma City; Linden, New Jersey; and Rancho Cucamonga, California, GM said.

Two-Tier System

GM has said it plans to replace employees who accept the buyouts with lower-wage workers under a two-tier salary system negotiated with the UAW in September.

Another round of buyouts will be offered at remaining U.S. facilities early next year. Details of the second phase will be released in January, GM said.

Today's announcement comes as U.S. light vehicle sales for 2007 appear headed for the lowest level in nine years. GM said domestic sales may be slightly lower in 2008. GM sales fell 6.1 percent through November, compared with a 2.4 percent industrywide slide.

Workers will have 45 days to accept the buyout offers and an additional seven days to change their minds, Flores said. That means the full tally will be completed after March, he said.

Employees in the jobs banks who decline a buyout may be offered work in other facilities, Flores said. A total of about 900 employees in the three jobs banks are eligible for the buyouts, and those who reject the job offers may be laid off, he said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Greg Bensinger in New York at gbensinger1@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: December 18, 2007 17:10 EST