Already GM had excluded its Gunsan plant from the list of production bases for a follow-up model for the Chevrolet Cruz. It had also decided to shift production of the Chevy Trax (Opel Mokka) to a plant in Spain by the second half of 2014. Currently GM Korea accounts for about 20 percent of GM's worldwide output. GM Korea sells about 80 percent of its output overseas.
The talks of GM moving its production base out of Korea are not new. Earlier in May, Dan Akerson, the chairman and CEO of GM, had angered GM Korea union members by saying that his company would not pull out of Korea but will discuss labor woes with Korea's President Park Geun-hye during her U.S. trip. His remarks were interpreted by the union members as a veiled threat to tame the union.
To this, the management of GM Korea responded, "The news reports are groundless and they are just saying based on our ongoing problem with the union."
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