TEXT OF STORY

TESS VIGELAND: It’s decision day for thousands of workers at General Motors and bankrupt parts maker Delphi. Today is the deadline to accept buyout packages at both companies. As part of a major restructuring plan, GM is offering workers up to $140,000 to retire early and give up their health benefits. As Marketplace’s Amy Scott reports, the program might end up working a little too well.

AMY SCOTT: Gregg Shotwell works as a machine operator at a Delphi plant in Coopersville, Michigan. He says these days he spends a lot of his time saying goodbye.

GREGG SHOTWELL: The mood is depressing. People are either taking the buyoffs or they are transferring to other plants. So the plant is filling up with temp workers.

Shotwell plans to stay put. He’s worried his bankrupt employer won’t be able to live up to the buyout agreement. Some expect Delphi’s former parent company, General Motors, to sign up more than the 30,000 workers officials initially hoped for.

Joseph Philippi with Auto Trends Consulting says that may be more than GM can afford to lose.

JOSPEH PHILLIPI: You do get to a point where there are certain senior skill levels that you don’t want to lose. I don’t know how they’re gonna handle that.

GM couldn’t be reached for comment. The company announced this week it would delay its second quarter earnings report until late July in order to count the results.

In New York, I’m Amy Scott for Marketplace.