According to industry sources on June 10, GM Korea decided to discontinue its slow-selling Alpheon, and to release the Chevrolet Impala, which customers have been waiting for in the domestic market, in July to Sept. this year.
GM Korea will first import the Impala to Korea, but will produce it locally if the annual sales surpass 10,000 units. Considering the fact that the average monthly sales of the Alpheon stood at 340 units, however, the chances of the domestic production of the Impala seem slim.
Even though GM Korea keeps denying the fact, its Bupyeong plants are practically in the process of integration. As the company decided to produce a follow-up model of the Malibu, which will be introduced next year, at the first Bupyeong plant instead of the second one and to choose import sale of the Impala, industry watchers believe that it is the movement to integrate two plants in Bupyeong into one. Once the rate of plant operation decreases, it is inevitable to have employment problems. Then, the company is bound to restructure its labor force in the end, said the labor union of GM Korea.
It is not the only problem of its Bupyeong plants. With the Gunsan plant operating at only 60 percent due to the recent downward trend in sales, it is unclear to produce the next model of the Chevrolet Cruze and inevitable to have additional reconstruction of labor force
Meanwhile, GM and its Korean unit GM Korea have expressed frustration with GM Korea’s militant labor union, high wages, and plant inefficiency several times. Stefan Jacoby, president of GM International, said in the 2015 Detroit Auto Show early this year, “As GM Korea’s labor costs have risen sharply over the last six to seven years, manufacturing competitiveness is decreasing. Since we assign supply after reviewing the competitiveness of 150 production bases around the world, it is inevitable to reduce supply if the costs rise.” Sergio Rocha, CEO at GM Korea, also said, “The labor costs of automakers in Korea have increased 50 percent in the past five years. If there is no competitiveness, it is unsustainable.”
