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Chrysler LLC has expanded its buyout and retirement programs for hourly workers at eight facilities it plans to permanently close, including two plants in Fenton.

The changes are minor in the packages offered to workers from the idled minivan plant and the pickup plant, which is set to close by Sept. 30.

Chrysler said Monday that it is offering a special early retirement program to workers ages 50 to 62 with at least 10 years of service. They’ll receive full retirement benefits.

Previously, workers had to be 55 to qualify.

Another change for pickup plant workers is a preretirement leave. This option applies to workers who will reach retirement eligibility within 24 months after their plant is closed. Between the plant closure date and the worker’s retirement eligibility date, the worker could choose to be placed on a leave of absence at 85 percent of his or her base wage, Chrysler spokeswoman Dianna Gutierrez said.

Chrysler has offered this option to minivan workers and now is expanding it to the pickup work force.

The early retirement expansion makes 47 more minivan workers eligible for that option, and a "very minimal" number of workers qualified for a preretirement leave, said Joe Shields, president of UAW Local 110. He didn’t have a total number of eligible workers. Don Ackermann, vice president of UAW Local 136, which represents the pickup workers, did not have eligibility numbers for either offer.

Chrysler rolled out this round of buyout and retirement incentives to 26,000 hourly U.S. workers in February. Company officials have since extended the decision deadline three times, each time saying they wanted to give workers time to review union concessions.

Meanwhile, the automaker filed for bankruptcy reorganization on April 30 and announced plant closures at facilities in Michigan, Delaware, Ohio, Wisconsin and Missouri.

Members of the United Auto Workers now have until May 26, a week from today, to decide no fax payday loans. Those who accept an offer will retire or leave the company on May 27, Chrysler said.

The more than 1,300 UAW members from Chrysler’s Fenton plant qualify for at least one of the offers. It’s unclear how much their decisions will be affected by two events: the concessions given up last month in a revised UAW contract and the bankruptcy filing.

The rest of the offers remain the same for Fenton workers:

— Those who retire will get a $50,000 lump-sum payment plus a $25,000 new-vehicle voucher.

— Buyout offers depend on years of service. Workers with one to 10 years will receive $75,000 and a $25,000 new-vehicle voucher. Those with more than 10 years will get $115,000 and a $25,000 new-vehicle voucher.

But workers will walk away with less than those amounts; the lump-sum payments will be taxed, Chrysler said.

Gutierrez declined to say how many workers nationwide have signed up for the packages, nor would she comment on Chrysler’s expectations for these offers.

She did, however, say Chrysler is encouraging its hourly workers to review and consider the offers.

Laid-off workers who do not accept an incentive offer could face another difficult decision. Under the revised UAW contract approved April 29, a laid-off worker could receive one offer to transfer. If he or she rejects that offer, the worker will be dropped from the payroll and only have the right to be recalled if his or her local plant reopens. Previously, workers received up to four offers to transfer.

Gutierrez said it’s "too early" to discuss transfer possibilities.

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