JANESVILLE, Wis. -- In an unprecedented move, General Motors and bankrupt parts supplier Delphi will offer thousands of employees huge buyouts in an effort to avoid going belly up.

The companies will each offer union workers retirement buyout packages -- ranging from $35,000 to $140,000, depending on seniority.

Most workers who choose the buyout would keep GM pension benefits but forfeit health care and other post retirement perks. The buyouts mark the biggest steps yet as GM and Delphi try to cut costs.

GM lost more than $10 billion last year and Delphi went bankrupt as buyers flocked to overseas competitors -- who have lower costs and non-union labor in the United States.

The deal brings the companies and the United Auto Workers closer to avoiding a possibly crippling strike that could bankrupt GM.

Workers at the Janesville plant said it is an enticing deal, WISC-TV reported.

"All day long it was buzzin'! The ones that were out of here are definitely happy," said Sarah Gottschall, who has been a GM worker for seven years. "For me, it opens up a lot of positions to where we normally couldn't get into."

The $140,000 buyout applies to workers with at least 10 years of experience, which labor analysts said is about 43,000 workers.

As far as the buyout's effect on Wall Street is concerned, it hasn't done much Wednesday. At 3 p.m., GM shares were up a penny from where they started this morning.