Unionized workers of GM Korea Co., the South Korean unit of General Motors Co., call for the retraction of a GM decision to close GM Korea’s factory in Gunsan, 274 km south of Seoul, during a protest held amid rain near the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul on Feb. 28, 2018. On Feb. 13, GM announced it would close the Gunsan car assembly plant, citing low productivity. (Yonhap)
President Trump is taking credit for GM shutting down one of their factories in Gunsan and relocating to Detroit:
U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday hailed General Motors Co.’s decision to shut down a plant in South Korea, saying the carmaker will now “move back” to Detroit.
GM announced the same day that it will close one of its four car assembly plants in South Korea by the end of May due to lower demand for its vehicles. The move came as part of the Detroit-based automaker’s broad restructuring program across the world.
“GM Korea company announced today that it will cease production and close its Gunsan plant in May of 2018, and they’re going to move back to Detroit,” Trump said at a trade-related meeting at the White House.
The facility in Gunsan, 270 kilometers south of Seoul, was underutilized and running at 20 percent of its capacity for the past three years.
“You don’t hear these things, except for the fact that Trump became president,” Trump said. “Believe me, you wouldn’t be hearing that. So they’re moving back from Korea to Detroit. They’re moving.” [Korea Times]
Apparently GM is saying they are closing the plant due to higher labor costs in South Korea. GM is trying to get the union to renegotiate its labor contract to keep its other three plants in the country open.
