Already much leaner than it was before its Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization a decade ago, General Motors is looking to slim down some more.

But this week’s announcement of voluntary buyouts to trim the automotive giant’s workforce isn’t expected to have much of an impact at the Bowling Green Assembly Plant.

The voluntary buyout is being offered to roughly 18,000 salaried employees in North America who have at least 12 years of experience. Eligible employees have until Nov. 19 to volunteer for a buyout.

Because the buyout offer applies only to salaried employees, United Auto Workers Local 2164 President Jack Bowers isn’t expecting a huge impact locally. The Corvette plant has about 800 hourly workers and another 200 salaried employees, and GM has invested nearly $900 million in the plant’s new paint shop and other retooling.

“I heard about it (the voluntary buyout),” Bowers said. “The impact on salaried employees does concern me, but I haven’t heard of any impact here. I can’t imagine there would be, with all we have going on.”

The announcement comes at a time when GM’s finances look strong. The company reported third-quarter net income of $2.5 billion, which is 25 times greater than last year’s third quarter.

Sales of Corvettes have not been strong, but much of that can be attributed to the plant renovations and the resulting shutdown. Through the first nine months of the calendar year, GM reported selling 14,881 Corvettes, which is down 21 percent for the same period last year.

GM has already offered employee buyouts at some overseas plants where the company isn’t performing well, but this announcement isn’t in response to a slump.

“We’ve been on a journey to transform the company, both in how we operate the business and in how we lead in the future of mobility,” GM Corporate News Relations Director Pat Morrissey said in a prepared statement. “Even with the positive progress we’ve made, we are taking proactive steps to get ahead of the curve by accelerating our efforts to address overall business performance. We are doing this while our company and economy are strong. The voluntary severance program for eligible salaried employees is one example of our efforts to improve cost efficiency.”

The voluntary buyout stands to further reduce GM’s global salaried workforce, which has dropped from 90,000 in 2016 to 77,000 today, according to GMAuthority.com.

A statement from GM about the buyout indicated that the company will consider layoffs in 2019 if there aren’t enough volunteers.

“We will evaluate the need to implement after we see the results of the voluntary program and other cost-reduction efforts,” the GM statement said.

The buyout is in keeping with cost-cutting measures across the automotive industry.

Ford Motor Co., for example, is undertaking an $11 billion restructuring that includes reducing its global salaried workforce of 70,000.

The UAW’s Bowers sees the buyout as part of an industrywide trend of cost-cutting as automakers prepare for a future likely to include more electric vehicles and even autonomous vehicles.

“They’re getting leaner and meaner,” Bowers said. “And they seem to want a younger workforce.”

– Follow business reporter Don Sergent on Twitter @BGDNbusiness or visit bgdailynews.com.