GM Buys Out 7,500 UAW Workers, Chrysler Extends Buyout Deadline

General Motors Corp. (GM) said Thursday 7,500 of its U.S. union workers will take buyout offers and leave the company by April 1.

Chrysler LLC also said Thursday it will extend the decision-making deadline for those union members offered buyouts.

GM will fill job openings with current employees whenever possible and hire new workers at entry-level wages, the company said in a statement Thursday. The new hires will be determined on a plant-by-plant basis.

Separately, Chrysler said U.S. United Auto Worker union members are required to express interest on whether they will take a buyout package by midnight Friday. However, workers won't be forced to make a decision until after they review details of a new cost-cutting accord Chrysler is currently attempting to hammer out with the UAW.

The buyouts offered at both companies are part restructuring plans outlined in the auto makers' bids to secure more low-interest loans from the U.S. Department of Treasury. Both must submit a report detailing their cost-cutting actions by March 31.

Shares of GM rose 11.4% to $3.33 in recent market trading Thursday. Chrysler is privately held by Cerberus Capital Management LP

-By Jeff Bennett, Dow Jones Newswires; 248-204-5542; [e-mail]

(Wall Street Journal reporter John Stoll contributed to this story)