D.C. communications director among GM employees taking early separation deal

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WASHINGTON – One of General Motors' main communication officials in Washington is leaving because the company is being criticized by both sides of the political path of plans to close five factories in the United States and Canada and to reduce the number of white-collar workers.

Dayna Hart said Friday in an e-mail to friends and colleagues that she accepted the voluntary departure package of the company.

GM expanded its offering to North American salaried employees who have been with the company for twelve years or longer and are eligible for six months of pay and health benefits, as of February 1, according to spokesperson Patrick Morrissey.

The deadline for accepting the voluntary package was November 19th.

Eighteen thousand employees were eligible and 2,250 were requested to accept the split-off agreement, according to The Detroit News.

GM did not dispute the figure.

Morrissey said that involuntary redundancies will start after January 1 if the company works to reduce the paid labor force by 15 percent.

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Some employees, such as Hart, were allowed to negotiate with an early departure from 1 December and receive eight months' wages, he added.

Hart's duties will be covered by Jeannine Ginivan, who joined GM's public policy officials in the summer after handling media cases for the Volkswagen Group of America.

Hart has led the communication activities of GM since May in D.C. She previously had a series of communication jobs in Detroit dealing with labor, production and technology issues. She spent more than four years, until July 2015, in Shanghai for the management of internal and external communication for GM China.

She is also a former spokesman for GM & # 39; s Hummer brand, which was blinded during the 2008/2009 restructuring.