GM pledges $218 million to end Axle strike: UAW exec

DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Corp (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) added $18 million to its offer to American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings (AXL.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) in the final hours of negotiations between the supplier and its major union late Friday, a United Auto Workers official said on Sunday.

Adrian King, president of UAW Local 235, which represents American Axle workers in Detroit, said GM's total offer aimed at brokering a settlement to end a three-month-long strike stood at $218 million.

"I know you heard $200 (million), but they came in with $18 million to fund (supplemental unemployment)," King told reporters after a meeting with union workers to brief them on the contract. "That came in at the last hour of UAW bargaining."

He added: "That's $218 million that GM has put into this, so there's a lot of major players hoping we can bring this thing to closure."

American Axle and the UAW reached a tentative contract agreement late Friday. UAW workers in Detroit will vote on whether to ratify the cost-cutting contract on Monday.

Detroit-based American Axle has said it is under no obligation to repay the funds offered by GM.

(Reporting by Kevin Krolicki, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)