GM Russia plant resumes production after two-month stoppage

ST PETERSBURG, August 31 (Itar-Tass) - General Motors Russia car plant
in St. Petersburg resumes its production on Monday after a two-month idle
period.
The plant's management decided to stop the assembly line on July 1
"not to speed up higher production volumes on the Russian plant this year"
after the monitoring of the domestic car market.
GM specialists assure that a temporary stoppage would not affect the
concern's initial plans to launch the production of its new Chevrolet
Cruze sedan this autumn.
GM Auto public relations manager Yulia Boicharova told Itar-Tass
during this week the exact date for commercial production of this model
would be announced.
She noted that the plant's employees get two thirds of their average
wage during the plant's idle period.
GM Russia plant was opened in the industrial zone of Shushary on
November 7, 2008. The investments into the plant's first stage with an
annual output of 60,000 cars exceeded 300 million U.S. dollars. The plant
is expected to operate at its designed capacity by the end of 2010.
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