The two automotive behemoths said they are making the move as part of a plan to launch employee portals through which their workers will be able to obtain company information. The portals, to be launched later this year, will be based on Workscape Inc.’s Employee.com platform, which uses technology from Sun Microsystems, iPlanet and AOL. Both GM and DaimlerChrysler took undisclosed stakes in Workscape as part of the alliance.

The automotive companies — in partnership with the UAW — said they decided to offer low-cost Internet access because more than 75 percent of their employees already have home computers. That strategy is a departure from the one rival Ford Motor Co. took earlier this year when it launched a plan to provide its U.S. employees with home computers and Internet access in a bid to bring technology closer to its workforce.