GM Daewoo set to restart idled factory

SEOUL, Jan. 4 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean unit of troubled U.S. auto giant
General Motors Corp. said Sunday it will restart one of its four plants here on
Monday, two weeks after it was closed amid a tumble in car demand.

GM Daewoo Auto & Technology Co. has idled its No. 1 plant in Bupyeong, south of
Seoul, since Dec. 22. Its three other plants also remain closed.
GM Daewoo closed its assembly line in Changwon, about 398 km southeast of Seoul,
on Dec. 22. Another plant in Bupyoeong was shut down on Dec. 1 and its plant in
Gunsan, about 274 km southwest of Seoul, was closed on Dec. 18.
"I understand the number-one plant in Bupyeong will reopen on Monday," said an
official at GM Daewoo, the third-largest carmaker in South Korea.
The company, however, will extend the shutdown of its No. 2 factory in Bupyeong
till Jan. 11 and two other plants till the end of the month, he added.
GM Daewoo said Friday that its vehicles sales declined 8.1 percent to 880,723
units last year, marking its first annual contraction. Last month, vehicle sales
plunged 56 percent from a year ago, underscoring GM Daewoo's bleak outlook amid
woes at its U.S. parent.
In December, the U.S. government approved a US$17.4 billion bailout fund for GM
and Chrysler LLC, but analysts say the two of Detroit's Big Three will likely
undergo painful restructuring measures in return for the bailout package.
In 2002, GM and its partners acquired a majority stake in Daewoo Motor Co., the
automobile unit of the now defunct Daewoo Group, which collapsed under huge debts
in the wake of the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis.
ksnam@yna.co.kr
(END)