GM Daewoo halts production again

SEOUL, Feb. 5 (Yonhap) -- Woes mounted Thursday at the South Korean unit of
General Motors Corp. as the company suspended production amid a sharp decline in
vehicle sales last month, according to the automaker's union.
The suspension of the Korean plants, the third since December last year,
underlined how GM Daewoo Auto & Technology is struggling with shrinking demand
and a reported liquidity shortage.
GM Daewoo, the third-largest carmaker in South Korea, started idling its No. 2
plant that builds Winstorm sport-utility vehicles and Tosca sedans in the city of
Bupyeong, near Seoul, until Feb. 15, union officials said.
After four days of production, the No. 2 plant will also be idled from Feb. 20 to
March 1, the union said.
GM Daewoo's No. 1 plant that produces Gentra compact cars in Bupyeong will be
closed for 12 days this month.
Another plant that builds the Chevrolet Cruze in Gusan, 274 kilometers southwest
of Seoul, will be operational for only 10 days this month, the union said.
A statement from the company's union indicated that the prolonged shutdown at GM
Daewoo's plants would meet resistance.
"Since Dec. 15, production has ceased for about 50 days," the union said in the
statement. "How long must we bear the brunt of falling income from plant
shutdowns?"
Last month, GM Daewoo saw its vehicle sales plunge 50.5 percent to 45,842 vehicles.
Domestic sales fell 20.4 percent to 6,914 units and exports plummeted 53.6
percent to 38,928 units, according to the company.
The unlisted GM Daewoo, the third-largest carmaker in South Korea, was set up in
2002 when GM and its partners took a majority stake in the automobile unit of the
bankrupt Daewoo Group, which collapsed in 1998.
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