DELPHI PACKARD Company takes measures to reduce costs

The company hopes to restore the suspended benefits when its economic outlook improves.
By CYNTHIA VINARSKY
VINDICATOR BUSINESS WRITER
WARREN -- Salaried employees at Delphi Packard Electric Systems will see some of their benefits cut in the months ahead and some may take advantage of early retirement and buyout incentive plans as the company works to reduce its operating costs.
Delphi Packard notified its salaried work force this week of a new Voluntary Incentive Separation Plan which will give employees the opportunity to apply for a buyout or an early retirement, depending upon their age and length of service with the company.
A similar early retirement and buyout incentive plan was offered for salaried workers earlier this year, spokeswoman Ann Cornell said. The company has not revealed how many employees took advantage of the offer, she said, the but the number was enough to have a positive impact.
No policy: Delphi Packard does not have a temporary layoff policy for salaried employees, Cornell explained. The voluntary buyout and early retirement program is a way for the company to reduce its salaried work force by providing financial incentives for people who might want to leave.
Delphi is also suspending its Dependent Scholarship Program, which provides a financial award to help cover tuition expenses for salaried workers who have children in college.
Cornell said she did not have information on the amount of the scholarship payments or how long the suspension will last.
Finally, she said, Delphi Packard announced it will continue its suspension of the company's match for a percentage of salaried employees 401(k) account deposits. Employees may continue making deposits in their 401(k) accounts, but the company will not add matching funds.
The company stopped offering the match early this year when its order volume dropped, she said, but had planned to reinstate the benefit in 2002.
Order volume drops: Delphi Automotive Systems, Delphi Packard's Michigan-based parent company, has seen its order volume drop because of the downturn in the automotive industry. In October the company reported an 82 percent drop in its third-quarter profits, blaming lower auto production levels in North America, Europe and South America and weak sales of after-market parts.
"In these tough economic times, we want to reduce our operating costs, but we're trying to look at things that will hurt the least," Cornell said. "The intent is to restore the benefits we've suspended, once we get back on track and the economy turns back around."
Delphi Packard, a maker of wiring harnesses and related components, employs about 7,000 in the Warren area.
vinarsky@vindy.com