More than 18,000 of GM’s U.S. hourly workers or about a quarter of its American blue-collar work force have accepted the automaker’s buyout packages, the company announced today. Most of the employees are expected to be gone by July 1, 2008. Although GM won’t replace all of the workers who opted for the buyouts, it’s expected that the automaker will replace an unidentified number of highly paid veterans with lower-wage workers.
More than 18,000 of GM’s 
