Retirees win suit over benefits against General Motors: Report

(Reuters) — About 3,000 salaried retirees have won a class action case against their former employer, General Motors Co. affiliate General Motors of Canada Ltd., according to a report in the Globe and Mail newspaper.

The lawsuit relates to the U.S. auto giant's attempt to slash the health and life insurance benefits of salaried retirees as it scrambled to stay afloat during the financial crisis.

The ruling could cost the company hundreds of millions of dollars in past and future benefits that it tried to clear from its books as it teetered toward insolvency five years ago, said the report.

The final bill must still be worked out, but the plaintiffs' statement of claim initially demanded about $350 million.

GM plans to appeal the ruling, the paper said.

The plaintiffs' lawyer and a spokeswoman for GM Canada were not immediately available for comment.