GM Plans To Cut 5,000 South Korean Jobs

[franco + 96]

General Motors plans to reduce about 30 percent of its workforce in S Korea. At the same time they are keeping production and trying to find a balance if Seoul agrees to GM's  $2.8 billion proposal for the loss-making operation. The Detroit automaker, which owns 77 percent of GM Korea, is negotiating with the South Korean government over the restructuring proposal, as state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB) owns a 17 percent stake. I remind, last week GM has proposed an investment of $2.8 billion into its loss-making South Korean operations over the next 10 years and has asked Seoul to provide its share of the funds.

[Missy + 43]

Which follows an annoucement in early 2017 that it was planning an extra $1 billion investment here in the US. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-gm-jobs-trump/general-motors-says-to-invest-additional-1-billion-in-u-s-idUSKBN15107B

I think the South Korea plant is a loser, and its days are numbered.

[Rodent + 1,424]

A few days ago GM "sent home" 36 of its senior executives of the GM SK plant, most of whom were American. That does not bode well for South Korea.

And not to blend threads, but the US carmaker industry is probably not excited about the steel tariff either. 

[Addy + 14]

There is more than one GM plant in South Korea. As I understand it, one plant has recently been closed already, and the fate of two more is currently being decided upon--there are four total. 

What does this mean for the small car market? The cars GM producers in SK are mostly tiny--it's not like those cars are going to be made in the US.

[damirUSBiH + 327]

Things go better for GM in South Korea. South Korea announced that it would offer about $224.72 million in loan guarantees and low-interest loans to regions hit by corporate restructuring, including the area of the local unit of General Motors’ soon-to-be-shut factory.

[Pavel + 384]

Yep. Looks like a GM could "survive" together with all employees. Without cut...