GM to increase pay for salaried workers, sweeten retirement benefits

Published 3:37 pm Friday, November 3, 2023

After reaching a deal that gives significant pay raises to hourly workers, General Motors Co. is boosting wages and sweetening retirement benefits for its salaried workers, the Detroit-based automaker confirmed Friday.

On average, GM’s hourly workforce next year will receive an average base salary increase of 3.5%. GM also is increasing its 401(k) contribution by 2 percentage points. GM employs 43,500 salaried workers in the United States.

In a statement, GM spokesperson Kevin Kelly said the automaker “provides competitive compensation and benefits for salaried employees, benchmarked across industries. Next year, GM will increase base pay and company matching for 401(k) plans, as well as offer enhanced healthcare benefits.”

The move comes after the Detroit automaker reached a tentative agreement with the United Auto Workers on Monday, ending a 46-day long strike at some of the automaker’s plants. The union’s National GM Council is meeting Friday to go over specifics of the deal and voting on it before sending it to the membership for ratification.

GM’s deal, like those with Stellantis NV and Ford Motor Co., includes 27% compounded base wage increases through April 2028. It’s slated to cumulatively raise the top wage by 33% to more than $42 an hour when accounting for cost-of-living adjustments, according to the union. The starting wage at GM will increase by 70% compounded with estimated COLA, to over $30 an hour.

UAW President Shawn Fain and UAW Vice President Mike Booth, head of the GM department, will publicly provide details of the GM deal during a noon Saturday Facebook Live event.

Stellantis NV spokesperson Shawn Morgan in a statement said the automaker rolled out salary increases effective July 1 for nearly all non-represented salary employees in the United States as a part of regular salary reviews to benchmark competition. The company declined to provide specifics of the compensation hikes.

“Stellantis is committed to offering competitive and comprehensive benefits for its salaried employees,” Morgan said. “This year we’ve added several new benefits including family building, and with a keen focus on mental health and wellness, we enhanced our EAP benefit and introduced a wellness day.”

The EAP is the automaker’s Employee Assistance Program that offer benefits such as access to therapy and counseling. The one wellness day a year allows an employee to take a day off paid, no questions asked.

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