The Brazilian branch of U.S. auto giant General Motors said Thursday it will dismiss 1,633 temporary employees and send another 900 on paid leave, as the international financial crisis has hurt the auto market.

All of the dismissed will be from GM factory in Sao Caetano do Sul, while the workers to be on a 30-day paid leave are from this factory and the one in Sao Jose dos Campos, GM said.

According to the company, 30 employees will be laid off each day on Thursday and Friday. From Monday on, each business day will see 50 employees laid off until April.

The Sao Caetano do Sul steelworkers' union said the workers were informed of this plan last Friday. They will make a protest Thursday afternoon to call for reconsidering the decision.

According to Jaime Ardilla, GM President for Brazil and Mercosur, the dismissals are not part of the 47,000 cuts announced by the GM headquarters last week.

In January, General Motors had announced dismissing 744 employees from its Sao Jose dos Campos factory, most of whom were also temporary workers.

Source: Xinhua