Seeking Assurances Over Opel Shift to Eu

Opel’s plan to shift car production from South Korea to Europe fueled concerns among workers about a sharp fall in output at General Motors’ South Korean unit, which is already grappling with slumping sales. Sources in GM’s South Korean union said they were seeking assurances about future production volumes, after Opel boss Michael Lohscheller said in a briefing on Thursday that GM’s former European arm planned to move “volumes from Korea to Europe”, Reuters reported. “By 2020, we will import nearly 200,000 vehicles less per year,” Lohscheller said. GM this year agreed to sell its Opel and Vauxhall brands in Europe to PSA Group, dealing a severe blow to output at GM Korea, which has exported Opel-badged models like Karl and Mokka to Europe. “We have no choice but to die,” a union official told Reuters, declining to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter. “If they do not make up for Opel’s lost volume, we have no choice but to believe that GM is determined to intentionally kill us.” GM executives have complained about South Korea’s relatively high wages and its strike-prone labor union.