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<title><![CDATA[RSS for Tim Lee]]></title>
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<title><![CDATA[Western China generates growing auto sales in a high-growth market]]></title>
<link><![CDATA[http://www.autonews.com/article/20130422/GLOBAL02/130429983/western-china-generates-growing-auto-sales-in-a-high-growth-market]]></link>
<guid>http://www.autonews.com/article/20130422/GLOBAL02/130429983/western-china-generates-growing-auto-sales-in-a-high-growth-market</guid>
<pubDate><![CDATA[Mon, 22 Apr 2013 14:28:55 EDT]]></pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[SHANGHAI (Bloomberg) -- Each time An Fu Ford, a dealership in the western Chinese city of Chongqing, sells a car, workers fire a confetti cannon, showering the parking lot with colorful scraps of paper. There's a lot of paper to sweep up these days. Car sales in western China are expanding twice as ...]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[GM Korea's contingency plan provokes union ahead of talks]]></title>
<link><![CDATA[http://www.autonews.com/article/20130409/GLOBAL/130409888/gm-koreas-contingency-plan-provokes-union-ahead-of-talks]]></link>
<guid>http://www.autonews.com/article/20130409/GLOBAL/130409888/gm-koreas-contingency-plan-provokes-union-ahead-of-talks</guid>
<pubDate><![CDATA[Tue, 09 Apr 2013 09:45:09 EDT]]></pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[SEOUL (Reuters) -- General Motors Co. has warned it could shift operations from South Korea in the longer term due to rising tension with the North, angering its Korean union which accuses the firm of using the instability as leverage ahead of tough annual labor talks. North Korea has issued a stream of threats of war with South Korea and the United States in recent weeks, and today it effectively shut down an industrial park operated with South Korea a few kilometers inside its border. The rhetoric prompted GM CEO Dan Akerson to say late last week that the company, which has four car manufacturing plants and one transmission factory in South Korea, was making contingency plans for employee safety there. Akerson said it would be difficult to shift production from South Korea, but that the continued escalation of tensions on the Korean peninsula would cause the No.1 U.S. automaker to look at moving production long-term. The comments also come as GM's Korean labor union, which staged the first strike in four years last year over a new shift system, is gearing up for annual wage negotiations and talks on a broader potential restructuring of its production system. "It is a message by Akerson to the union saying 'don't make excessive demands'... They want to make the union feel jittery," Choi Jong-hak, a union spokesman, told Reuters. "It is a threat, as the labor union here is seen as a stumbling block for its restructuring of its global production system." Competitive edge South Korea is one of biggest overseas manufacturing bases for GM, producing more than four out of 10 Chevrolet vehicles sold globally, but it has been losing its competitive edge due to a fraught relationship with the trade union and a rising won currency, executives have said. GM Korea told its union in November that it would not produce the next-generation Cruze compact in South Korea, prompting speculation the output may move to Europe to support GM's ailing Opel unit. Akerson's intervention followed a series of warnings from other GM executives that labor issues are one of the key business risks it has to deal with in South Korea. "We want ... to move to a much more collaborative relationship like we have with our trade unions all around the world," Tim Lee, GM's international operations chief, said at a recent news conference in Bupyeong, near Seoul. GM's Korean union, which starts summer wage talks later this month, is known for its uncompromising stance. Union activists have in the past stormed into executives' offices to press their demands -- in one case in pursuit of better canteen meals -- and have threatened "a war" should GM Korea move output overseas. "It's not different when you look after a child," Sergio Rocha, head of GM Korea, told Reuters in a recent interview. "I'm not saying that the union is a child. I'm just saying you need to teach, coach, guide, instruct, support until they go by themselves." Key manufacturing siteandnbsp; GM, like other big U.S. automakers, has for the past several years used a two-tier wage structure in the United States to bring labor costs closer to overseas rivals, with new hires paid a lower initial wage than their veteran unionized peers. Increasing flexibility at its South Korean operations is seen as critical for GM's global ambitions, because the unit serves so many other markets, especially Europe. GM, South Korea's second-biggest automaker after Hyundai Motor Group, which includes Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia, exports 85 percent of cars manufactured there. "If you look to the past 10 years, the cost of labor in Korea has increased too much. One of the few countries that has increased its labor costs higher than Korea is Spain for example. I don't need to tell you what's going on in Spain today right?" Rocha said. "Is this the right place to invest? ... we're taking a bet that may be a risk for the future of the industry here," he said, citing the rising won and a potential increase in labor costs stemming from ongoing litigation with the union. Labor risks make it even less attractive to maintain production in South Korea given the domestic dominance of Hyundai and Kia, which control more than 70 percent of the market. GM's Korean market share is less than 10 percent. South Korea is the world's fifth-biggest auto manufacturing country after China, the United States, Japan and Germany, but in terms of domestic market it ranks 11th, according to data from IHS Automotive. "We are not as optimistic about the Korean production location," Henner Lehne, director at IHS Automotive, said, noting "strong movements to other production locations" by Hyundai Motor. Hyundai, the world's fifth-biggest automaker along with Kia Motors, saw its global sales more than double over eight years until last year, but was assembling just 43 percent of its total output in South Korea in 2012, almost half the level in 2004, data from the company shows.]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[GM pledges $7.3 billion investment in S. Korea unit]]></title>
<link><![CDATA[http://europe.autonews.com/article/20130222/ANE/130229963/gm-pledges-7-3-billion-investment-in-s-korea-unit]]></link>
<guid>http://europe.autonews.com/article/20130222/ANE/130229963/gm-pledges-7-3-billion-investment-in-s-korea-unit</guid>
<pubDate><![CDATA[Fri, 22 Feb 2013 07:32:49 EST]]></pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[SEOUL (Reuters) -- General Motors said it would invest $7.3 billion in its South Korean unit over the next five years -- an amount which will likely help relieve concerns that the U.S. automaker was set to reduce its presence in the country. Fears of output cuts and layoffs had grown after GM said ...]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[GM South Korean unit to spend $7.3 billion to expand]]></title>
<link><![CDATA[http://www.autonews.com/article/20130222/OEM01/130229964/gm-south-korean-unit-to-spend-7-3-billion-to-expand]]></link>
<guid>http://www.autonews.com/article/20130222/OEM01/130229964/gm-south-korean-unit-to-spend-7-3-billion-to-expand</guid>
<pubDate><![CDATA[Fri, 22 Feb 2013 07:29:10 EST]]></pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[SEOUL (Bloomberg) -- General Motors Co.'s South Korean unit plans to invest 8 trillion won ($7.3 billion) over five years to expand in a country where it made four of every 10 Chevrolets sold worldwide last year. GM Korea Co. will boost manufacturing facilities and double the size of its design ...]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[A CEO search, GM style: Who'll take it?]]></title>
<link><![CDATA[http://www.autonews.com/article/20130128/OEM02/301289966/a-ceo-search-gm-style-wholl-take-it]]></link>
<guid>http://www.autonews.com/article/20130128/OEM02/301289966/a-ceo-search-gm-style-wholl-take-it</guid>
<pubDate><![CDATA[Mon, 28 Jan 2013 00:01:00 EST]]></pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[At a General Motors board meeting in summer 2010, Chairman and CEO Ed Whitacre dropped a bombshell on his directors: He was stepping down as chief executive, a few months before GM's IPO. "The board was a little surprised," Whitacre writes in his memoir, which is scheduled to hit bookstores next ...]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[GM replots emerging market strategy, hedges on China partner]]></title>
<link><![CDATA[http://www.autonews.com/article/20130127/GLOBAL/130129911/gm-replots-emerging-market-strategy-hedges-on-china-partner]]></link>
<guid>http://www.autonews.com/article/20130127/GLOBAL/130129911/gm-replots-emerging-market-strategy-hedges-on-china-partner</guid>
<pubDate><![CDATA[Sun, 27 Jan 2013 09:09:06 EST]]></pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[How will GM look under Akerson's global brand push? Brazil gives clues]]></title>
<link><![CDATA[http://www.autonews.com/article/20130126/GLOBAL/301269998/how-will-gm-look-under-akersons-global-brand-push-brazil-gives-clues]]></link>
<guid>http://www.autonews.com/article/20130126/GLOBAL/301269998/how-will-gm-look-under-akersons-global-brand-push-brazil-gives-clues</guid>
<pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 26 Jan 2013 00:01:00 EST]]></pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[DETROIT (Bloomberg) -- As General Motors Co. CEO Dan Akerson works on a global corporate reorganization, the decisions he faces are playing out in one of the company's most important emerging markets: Brazil. The automaker is evaluating how it will structure management in the country after the ...]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[GM Korea faces union pressure over speculation Cruze production will move to Europe]]></title>
<link><![CDATA[http://europe.autonews.com/article/20121115/ANE/121119935/gm-korea-faces-union-pressure-over-speculation-cruze-production-will]]></link>
<guid>http://europe.autonews.com/article/20121115/ANE/121119935/gm-korea-faces-union-pressure-over-speculation-cruze-production-will</guid>
<pubDate><![CDATA[Thu, 15 Nov 2012 05:28:22 EST]]></pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[SEOUL (Reuters) -- Labor leaders at the South Korean unit of General Motors are putting pressure on the carmaker to reverse course and build its next-generation Chevrolet Cruze model in the country, over fears the company plans to build it in other regions, including Europe. Union officials said GM Korea head Sergio Rocha told them on November 1 that the new Cruze will be produced in Europe and four other regions, sparking speculation that GM may move the output to Europe to help boost efficiency at its money-losing unit there. Rocha has said the automaker has not yet decided which overseas factories will produce the new Cruze. Union leaders also said they met with Rocha on Thursday and he reiterated that GM cannot retract the production decision. "Should (GM) not withdraw the decision, it will face enormous resistance (from workers)," union leader Min Ki said in a statement, adding the union would do all it could to block the move, which it fears will cost Korean jobs. The current Cruze model accounts for 50-60 percent of about 260,000 vehicles produced at GM Korea's plant in the southwestern city of Gunsan, which employs about 3,300 workers. The factory also builds the Chevy Orlando SUV and Lacetti small car. GM has two other car plants in South Korea. The fully revamped Cruze model is expected to hit the market in the third quarter of 2014. "The next-generation Cruze is the lifeline of Gunsan factory. The plant is flooded with anger about GM, which is trying to cut its lifeline," Min said. The union has also called for meetings with GM's Tim Lee, the head of international operations and CEO Dan Akerson. Rocha downplayed concerns about any plant shutdown or output cuts at the factory, according to the union. "We will seek ways to maintain utilization rates at Gunsan plant by continuing to produce the current Cruze model," said Park Hae-ho, a spokesman for GM Korea. A union spokesman, Choi Jong-hak, who previously threatened "a war" should GM Korea move output out of the country, said the union is seeking to garner support from politicians and Korea Development Bank (KDB), GM Korea's second-biggest shareholder. GM has said previously that it wants to increase its stake in its South Korean operations. While it owns close to 77 percent of GM Korea, KDB's 17 percent holding gives the state-run bank the right to veto some decisions made by the automaker. Opel assistance In December, GM CEO Dan Akerson floated the idea that more cost-cutting at the company's Germany-based Opel unit could be accompanied by shifting production to the region from Asia to make European plants more efficient. GM's European unit, which includes its Opel and Vauxhall brands, has lost money for 12 consecutive years, and the company is scrambling to cut costs and boost efficiency in that region. It said on Oct. 31 that it expected a loss of as much as $1.8 billion in Europe this year and was targeting a return to breakeven in the region by mid-decade. Automotive News Europe contributed to this report]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[GM-Peugeot: Progress (10/22/12)]]></title>
<link><![CDATA[http://search.autonews.com/v/65018451/gm-peugeot-progress-10-22-12.htm?]]></link>
<guid>http://search.autonews.com/v/65018451/gm-peugeot-progress-10-22-12.htm?</guid>
<pubDate><![CDATA[Mon, 22 Oct 2012 08:25:20 EDT]]></pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[GM CEO expects update by Oct. 31; Chrysler seeks to make Jeeps in China; Hendrick, AutoNation dealer universities]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[GM seeks to gain near complete control of S. Korea unit]]></title>
<link><![CDATA[http://europe.autonews.com/article/20121022/ANE/310229794/gm-seeks-to-gain-near-complete-control-of-s-korea-unit]]></link>
<guid>http://europe.autonews.com/article/20121022/ANE/310229794/gm-seeks-to-gain-near-complete-control-of-s-korea-unit</guid>
<pubDate><![CDATA[Mon, 22 Oct 2012 00:01:00 EDT]]></pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[SEOUL (Reuters) -- General Motors Co is looking to gain close to complete control of its South Korean unit by buying a 17 percent stake held by the unit's second-biggest shareholder, a move that has renewed concerns it could be paving the way for restructuring steps. GM owns close to 77 percent of ...]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[GM seeks to gain near complete control of South Korea unit]]></title>
<link><![CDATA[http://www.autonews.com/article/20121021/OEM/121029991/gm-seeks-to-gain-near-complete-control-of-south-korea-unit]]></link>
<guid>http://www.autonews.com/article/20121021/OEM/121029991/gm-seeks-to-gain-near-complete-control-of-south-korea-unit</guid>
<pubDate><![CDATA[Sun, 21 Oct 2012 21:37:58 EDT]]></pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[SEOUL (Reuters) -- General Motors Co. is looking to gain close to complete control of its South Korean unit by buying a 17 percent stake held by the unit's second-biggest shareholder, a move that has renewed concerns it could be paving the way for restructuring steps. GM owns close to 77 percent of ...]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Suppliers praise GM's Socia]]></title>
<link><![CDATA[http://www.autonews.com/article/20120917/OEM02/309179949/suppliers-praise-gms-socia]]></link>
<guid>http://www.autonews.com/article/20120917/OEM02/309179949/suppliers-praise-gms-socia</guid>
<pubDate><![CDATA[Mon, 17 Sep 2012 00:01:00 EDT]]></pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[DETROIT -- About 600 supplier executives who gathered here last week for a meeting with General Motors brass got some news they hadn't bargained for: Global purchasing chief Bob Socia, who has done much to repair GM's strained relations with the supply base, is being reassigned. Socia, 58, will ...]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[GM purchasing boss Bob Socia to lead China operations]]></title>
<link><![CDATA[http://www.autonews.com/article/20120912/OEM02/120919953/1131]]></link>
<guid>http://www.autonews.com/article/20120912/OEM02/120919953/1131</guid>
<pubDate><![CDATA[Wed, 12 Sep 2012 09:35:20 EDT]]></pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[DETROIT -- General Motors has appointed global purchasing chief Bob Socia as president of GM China, succeeding the retiring Kevin Wale, effective Oct. 1. Wale, 57, became president of GM China in 2005, growing sales from 560,000 units that year to 2.5 million in 2011 -- making China GM's largest ...]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[GM purchasing chief Socia to succeed Wale as China boss]]></title>
<link><![CDATA[http://www.autonews.com/article/20120912/ANE/309129877/1131]]></link>
<guid>http://www.autonews.com/article/20120912/ANE/309129877/1131</guid>
<pubDate><![CDATA[Wed, 12 Sep 2012 09:35:20 EDT]]></pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[DETROIT -- General Motors has appointed global purchasing chief Bob Socia as president of GM China, succeeding the retiring Kevin Wale, effective Oct. 1. Wale, 57, became president of GM China in 2005, growing sales from 560,000 units that year to 2.5 million in 2011 -- making China GM's largest ...]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[GM's OnStar plans Mexico expansion in 2013 after growth in China]]></title>
<link><![CDATA[http://www.autonews.com/article/20120907/OEM06/120909925/1182]]></link>
<guid>http://www.autonews.com/article/20120907/OEM06/120909925/1182</guid>
<pubDate><![CDATA[Fri, 07 Sep 2012 07:03:35 EDT]]></pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[DETROIT (Bloomberg) -- General Motors Co., after introducing OnStar in China in 2009, is expanding the in-car communication service into Mexico next year as it looks to add more markets in the future. The expansion is the first move by OnStar's new leader, Mary Chan, hired in May from Dell Inc. She ...]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[GM will invest $1 billion in Russia within 5 years]]></title>
<link><![CDATA[http://www.autonews.com/article/20120829/ANE/120829899/1198]]></link>
<guid>http://www.autonews.com/article/20120829/ANE/120829899/1198</guid>
<pubDate><![CDATA[Wed, 29 Aug 2012 07:30:12 EDT]]></pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[MOSCOW (Reuters) -- General Motors plans to invest $1 billion over the next five years to expand car and component production in Russia, one of the fastest-growing auto markets in the world, its head of international operations Tim Lee said. GM, which produces cars in Kaliningrad, St. Petersburg ...]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[GM seen planning global reorganization to tackle 'fiefdoms']]></title>
<link><![CDATA[http://www.autonews.com/article/20120817/ANE/308179940/1131]]></link>
<guid>http://www.autonews.com/article/20120817/ANE/308179940/1131</guid>
<pubDate><![CDATA[Fri, 17 Aug 2012 04:34:21 EDT]]></pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[DETROIT (Bloomberg) -- General Motors Co. CEO Dan Akerson is planning a reorganization of the automaker that would move it away from long-entrenched regional authority toward a structure built on global functions, said two people familiar with the planning. Power would shift from regional chiefs to ...]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Sharp Eye on GM Trucks (7/16/12)]]></title>
<link><![CDATA[http://search.autonews.com/v/59398284/sharp-eye-on-gm-trucks-7-16-12.htm?]]></link>
<guid>http://search.autonews.com/v/59398284/sharp-eye-on-gm-trucks-7-16-12.htm?</guid>
<pubDate><![CDATA[Mon, 16 Jul 2012 15:47:33 EDT]]></pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[As big launch looms, manufacturing chief sheds global role to focus on N.A.; Hyundai 'tapped out'; Toyota's Carter, Fay move up.]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[GM appoints Tim Lee as head of global manufacturing]]></title>
<link><![CDATA[http://www.autonews.com/article/20120716/OEM01/120719882/1424]]></link>
<guid>http://www.autonews.com/article/20120716/OEM01/120719882/1424</guid>
<pubDate><![CDATA[Mon, 16 Jul 2012 10:05:54 EDT]]></pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[DETROIT -- General Motors has tapped its head of China and other key international markets to also lead its global manufacturing operations. Tim Lee, 61, was appointed GM's vice president of global manufacturing, GM said in a statement today . He'll retain his position as president of GM's ...]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Russia fills gap for General Motors as China sales slow]]></title>
<link><![CDATA[http://www.autonews.com/article/20120710/ANE/120719992/1198]]></link>
<guid>http://www.autonews.com/article/20120710/ANE/120719992/1198</guid>
<pubDate><![CDATA[Tue, 10 Jul 2012 08:52:41 EDT]]></pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[BEIJING (Reuters) -- China is no longer the eye-popping growth story for General Motors, but robust sales in Russia and other emerging markets quickly filled the gap during the first half of this year, a senior company executive told Reuters. "While China is still strongandhellip; it is no longer ...]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[GM expands Russian plant]]></title>
<link><![CDATA[http://www.autonews.com/article/20120625/OEM01/306259964/1198]]></link>
<guid>http://www.autonews.com/article/20120625/OEM01/306259964/1198</guid>
<pubDate><![CDATA[Mon, 25 Jun 2012 00:01:00 EDT]]></pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[General Motors, facing continued losses in Europe, broke ground on an expansion of its factory in St. Petersburg, Russia, that will more than double annual production capacity to 230,000 vehicles by 2015, from 98,000 today, Bloomberg reported. The plant will make the Opel Astra compact and ...]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[GM seeks to offset Europe losses with Russian growth]]></title>
<link><![CDATA[http://www.autonews.com/article/20120622/ANE/306229896/1198]]></link>
<guid>http://www.autonews.com/article/20120622/ANE/306229896/1198</guid>
<pubDate><![CDATA[Fri, 22 Jun 2012 08:04:21 EDT]]></pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[SOUTHFIELD, Michigan -- General Motors, facing continued losses in western Europe, broke ground on the expansion of its factory in St. Petersburg, Russia, that will more than double annual production capacity from the current 98,000 vehicles to 230,000 vehicles by 2015. The plant will make the new ...]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[GM international unit hires sales exec Barnes from VW]]></title>
<link><![CDATA[http://www.autonews.com/article/20120508/OEM02/120509882/1401]]></link>
<guid>http://www.autonews.com/article/20120508/OEM02/120509882/1401</guid>
<pubDate><![CDATA[Tue, 08 May 2012 11:45:18 EDT]]></pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[DETROIT -- General Motors today hired veteran sales executive Mark Barnes away from Volkswagen and installed him as GM's top sales executive in charge of China and other overseas markets. Barnes, 52, was named vice president of sales, marketing and aftersales for GM's international operations, ...]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Opel losses hurt GM's U.S. profit, upset investors]]></title>
<link><![CDATA[http://www.autonews.com/article/20120215/ANE/302159941/1193]]></link>
<guid>http://www.autonews.com/article/20120215/ANE/302159941/1193</guid>
<pubDate><![CDATA[Wed, 15 Feb 2012 00:34:22 EST]]></pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[DETROIT/FRANKFURT -- General Motors CEO Dan Akerson, having decided to keep the company's Opel unit, will come under greater pressure to cut production and employees in Europe as losses continue to pile up. GM has been rolling in good news now for more than a year, and that will probably continue ...]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Opel losses mount, GM seeks union-backed cuts]]></title>
<link><![CDATA[http://www.autonews.com/article/20120208/OEM/120209808/1308]]></link>
<guid>http://www.autonews.com/article/20120208/OEM/120209808/1308</guid>
<pubDate><![CDATA[Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:40:27 EST]]></pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[DETROIT/FRANKFURT (Reuters) -- General Motors Co. will report a loss of more than $300 million at its troubled Opel unit next week, as the U.S. automaker races to cut costs that can win the backing of its German union, people familiar with the situation said. Wall Street wants a fast restructuring ...]]></description>
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