ID :
32242
Tue, 11/25/2008 - 17:09
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/32242
The shortlink copeid
GM Daewoo to close main S. Korean plant for a month
(ATTN: ADDS Hyundai Motor and other smaller carmakers starting para 8)
SEOUL, Nov. 25 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean unit of beleaguered U.S. auto giant
General Motors Corp. said Tuesday it will shut down its main plant here for one
month because of slumping sales caused by the global economic downturn.
GM Daewoo Auto & Technology Co. will close the main plant in Bupyeong, near
Seoul, from Dec. 1 to Jan. 4 next year, company officials said.
The factory produces Tosca sedans, Winstorm sport-utility vehicles and compact
cars for the South Korean market and also exports to Asia and Europe under the GM
brands.
Other GM Daewoo plants in Gunsan and Changwon will be suspended for two weeks
next month.
"Amid a slowdown in sales and rising inventories, the company plans to halt the
plants," said an official at GM Daewoo.
"Unless sales are significantly improved early next year," GM Daewoo will further
idle some plants by the end of March, the official said.
Last month, GM Daewoo said its vehicle sales dropped 11.3 percent from a year
earlier to 73,180 units.
With the global economic storms rippling through South Korea, other automakers,
including market leader Hyundai Motor Co., remain in a cost-cutting mode.
Hyundai said it will slash production of Santa Fe and Veracruz SUVs at its main
plant in Ulsan, 414 kilometers southeast of Seoul, by preventing overtime and
weekend works by the end of next month.
Earlier, Hyundai said it will shut down its sole Alabama plant in the U.S. for 11
days during the fourth quarter as the credit crisis dampens vehicle demand in the
world's largest market.
Ssangyong Motor Co., the local unit of China's Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp,
has been in talks with its union to suspend production at its only plant in
Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, next month to reduce inventory amid
sluggish demand, according to company officials.
Renault Samsung Motor Co., the local unit of French automaker Renault SA said
last week it plans to cut jobs through an early retirement program as part of the
French parent company's efforts to reduce costs.
Renault Samsung officials did not clarify how many workers the company would
slash, but indicated some 600 senior office workers opted to take the early
retirement program.
(END)
SEOUL, Nov. 25 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean unit of beleaguered U.S. auto giant
General Motors Corp. said Tuesday it will shut down its main plant here for one
month because of slumping sales caused by the global economic downturn.
GM Daewoo Auto & Technology Co. will close the main plant in Bupyeong, near
Seoul, from Dec. 1 to Jan. 4 next year, company officials said.
The factory produces Tosca sedans, Winstorm sport-utility vehicles and compact
cars for the South Korean market and also exports to Asia and Europe under the GM
brands.
Other GM Daewoo plants in Gunsan and Changwon will be suspended for two weeks
next month.
"Amid a slowdown in sales and rising inventories, the company plans to halt the
plants," said an official at GM Daewoo.
"Unless sales are significantly improved early next year," GM Daewoo will further
idle some plants by the end of March, the official said.
Last month, GM Daewoo said its vehicle sales dropped 11.3 percent from a year
earlier to 73,180 units.
With the global economic storms rippling through South Korea, other automakers,
including market leader Hyundai Motor Co., remain in a cost-cutting mode.
Hyundai said it will slash production of Santa Fe and Veracruz SUVs at its main
plant in Ulsan, 414 kilometers southeast of Seoul, by preventing overtime and
weekend works by the end of next month.
Earlier, Hyundai said it will shut down its sole Alabama plant in the U.S. for 11
days during the fourth quarter as the credit crisis dampens vehicle demand in the
world's largest market.
Ssangyong Motor Co., the local unit of China's Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp,
has been in talks with its union to suspend production at its only plant in
Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, next month to reduce inventory amid
sluggish demand, according to company officials.
Renault Samsung Motor Co., the local unit of French automaker Renault SA said
last week it plans to cut jobs through an early retirement program as part of the
French parent company's efforts to reduce costs.
Renault Samsung officials did not clarify how many workers the company would
slash, but indicated some 600 senior office workers opted to take the early
retirement program.
(END)
