General Motors has no intention of shuttering its South Korean operations.
That much is according to the unit’s recently-appointed CEO Kaher Kazem, who held a press conference on the sixth day on the job, putting to rest rumors in the Korean news alleging that the automaker was planning to shutter its operations in the country.
Kaher Kazem
Rumors of GM’s supposed pull-out from South Korea have intensified, with supposed “insiders” citing poor overseas sales and ongoing financial losses as reasons for the withdrawal. To make matters worse, Kazem’s appointment to the CEO position in August prompted the country’s media to label him as a “restructuring specialist” that engineered the withdrawal of GM’s Chevrolet brand from India by selling its primary factory (the GM Halol plant) to China’s to SAIC and converting the second plant (the GM Talegaon factory) to produce vehicles for export markets.
Kazem addressed the rumors head-on during the press conference, stating that they were untrue and that he is committed to turning GM Korea around by making it competitive in all markets, improving profitability, and eliminating its financial deficit that it accumulated over the last several years.
The new CEO also stated that South Korea is Chevrolet’s fifth-largest and fastest-growing market that plays a critical role in design, engineering and manufacturing within GM’s global operations.
Kazem’s colleagues refute claims that the executive specializes in minimizing operations as he did in India. Instead, they state that he is adept at optimizing operations and making them more efficient and competitive.
Comments
GM will never make money in S Korea. Hyundai is like a national religion and a massive domestic employer.
Nonetheless, GM would be insane to give up Korean engineering center with Russelheim gone. S Korea attracts top tier global talent makes for a great independent, non SAIC allied, Pacific development center.
In addition, with Opel gone, GM needs small car/modular expertise.
South Korea was a profit center for GM/Chevrolet over the last two decades. They can and will make money there, but they need to restructure the operations in terms of labor and capacity… similar to what was done in the U.S. post bankruptcy.
As far as Hyundai being a religion… it is… but Chevrolet has a very good reputation in the country and is not considered to be as foreign as other brands like Ford or Toyota due to the way in which the GM Korea of today originated (by the purchase of Daewoo). Koreans know that a lot of the Chevrolet vehicles are developed locally… so that’s also playing into their favor.
Nothing to worry about here. SK is one of ‘ours’, like old Australia and New Brexit, unlike them in CommunEurope or (James) May-Sicko. The whole thing is a puppet show with Putin pulling the strings anyway. Welcome to not being in charge anymore, USA.
Please trigger-click the downthumb below.