Sales were up 3% last year to 277,000 units, the second best result in GM’s 100 year history, but revenues were down on last year’s result. GM made $181 billion in revenue in 2007, compared with $206 billion in 2006. Officials blamed the lackluster result on the carmaker’s GMAC financial services unit, which remained unprofitable last year, reports Automotive News.
This year’s result is expected to be significantly better as GM is set to offer buyouts or early retirements to all 74,000 U.S. hourly workers represented by the UAW, which would then allow the carmaker to start hiring lower-cost replacements.