General Motors announced Thursday they were asking employees to voluntarily quit as an alternative to enacting layoffs, a move the company said they would avoid in January. If employees put their hand up to be made redundant, they would get a severance package based on length of employment, as well as a lump sum payment, the company said. These payments would cost the company $1.5 billion, CNN Business reported. Just last week, GM also cut an unspecified number of white-collar employees following their “most recent performance calibration,” according to company executives.