General Motors intends to restructure in Thailand, as it will phase out production and sales of the Chevrolet Sonic vehicle and sales of the Chevrolet Spin and will launch a voluntary separation program for all salaried and hourly employees.
GM has already announced it will stop producing vehicles in Indonesia, shutter its Bekasi plant and cut 500 jobs by the end of June, and said the restructuring in Thailand includes its corporate office in Bangkok and manufacturing plants in Rayong. GM did not immediately say how many employees it hopes to see voluntarily leave. It has 3,200 at its Rayong plant.
“We must accelerate the transformation of our operations in Southeast Asia, particularly Thailand given the sluggish domestic market demand, by implementing changes to increase customer satisfaction and our competitiveness, speed up all processes and put us in a better position to achieve future growth,” Tim Zimmerman, president of GM Southeast Asia Operations, said.
GM said it is responding to market trends and customer demand for the Chevrolet Colorado truck, Trail Blazer and Captiva SUVs and Cruze compact car. Those vehicles total more than 75 percent of Chevy sales in Thailand and 95 percent of GM Thailand exports. GM has also said it is withdrawing participation in Thailand’s Eco Car Phase 2 program.
Stefan Jacoby, president of GM International said, “We are focusing our investments where the opportunity for GM’s growth is the greatest. We have made solid progress in our region, and this decision is an important part of this strategy.”
(It would appear, on the surface, that an optimist will be someone who brings his lunch to work!)
