GM Korea Co., the local unit of U.S. carmaker General Motors Co., announced a voluntary retirement program for its employees Tuesday as it pushes to enhance business efficiency and cut costs amid lackluster sales.
  

The automaker said it will receive applications for voluntary retirement from its office workers for 10 days from Jan. 4-13.
  

"We have decided on the voluntary retirement program as part of efforts to secure corporate competitiveness, organizational agility and efficiency," the company said.
  

Those who started to work at GM Korea before 2012 will be eligible to apply for the program, a company official said.
  

In return for applying for early retirement, workers will receive three years of annual salary, along with two years worth of support for their children's education and other benefits, such as vouchers for a new car.
  

GM Korea is struggling with falling vehicle sales this year.
  

GM Korea's cumulative sales at home and abroad during the January-November period totaled 560,534 units, down 2.3 percent from the same period a year earlier, its latest data showed.
  

In 2014, GM Korea received applications for voluntary retirement from office workers twice. It has not disclosed how many employees chose to retire early last year. (Yonhap)