GM Korea, the local unit of U.S. automaker General Motors Co., is expected to accept voluntary early retirement for some of its non-assembly line workers in the first quarter of next year, company sources said Tuesday.

Company insiders said the early retirement proposal was first brought up by GM Korea president and CEO Sergio Rocha during a regular Web chatting event carried out with employees on Monday.

The company has been plagued by rumors that it may undergo restructuring after Chevrolet vehicles secured only 1 percent market share in Europe this year. The poor figure caused GM to announce recently that it will not be selling Chevrolet cars in Europe from 2016 onwards.

The announcement led to speculation that the carmaker may scale back production to 650,000 units in 2015, down from some 800,000 vehicles this year, resulting in layoffs. GM Korea makes several models for export to Europe.

The executive did not elaborate on details of the plan, other than to say it will be announced formally after talks are conducted with the company’s union.

The company has kept mum on the number of people it wants to lay off, but it may be around 200, according to insiders. It, however, said no workers from the assembly line are subject to the early retirement plan. (Yonhap News)