General Motors has said it expects to incur costs of EUR400m (US$532m) for termination benefits covering 2,600 workers at the Opel car assembly plant in Antwerp, Belgium, which may close by the end of this year.
GM also said a search, led by the Flemish government, would be conducted to try to sell the plant to an outside investor. The deadline for such a deal is the end of September.
The carmaker and plant employees reached an agreement last week on termination benefits. The company said it expects “a significant number” of workers to leave under the programme by the end of June.
The remaining workers will receive termination benefits if they are not hired by a new plant owner, or if an investor is not found.
GM emerged from a US government-supported bankruptcy in July 2009 and had planned to sell Opel and UK sister brand Vauxhall , but last November decided to retain the brands and complete a restructuring.
