DETROIT, June 19 (Reuters) - General Motors Corp said on Thursday 18,657 of its U.S. hourly employees have accepted buyouts, clearing the way for the automaker to hire new workers at a lower wage.
The workers -- just over a quarter of its American blue-collar work force -- were expected to leave by July 1, a GM spokeswoman said while releasing the final tally. (Reporting by Poornima Gupta, editing by Mark Porter)