General Motors Co. is in talks with unions on transferring the production of some Chevrolet models from South Korea to Europe, as part of its European turnaround strategy, people privy to the IG Metall union told Reuters.During the meeting between GM and union leaders, they talked about an idea to transfer production of Chevrolet Cruze to Opel’s plant in Gliwice, Poland, while assembly of the Astra compact in the site will be shifted to other factories in Western Europe, sources added.
Another proposal was to shift production of the Chevrolet Orlando crossover to Opel's Bochum, Germany. Former Opel union boss Klaus Franz told Automotive News Europe in December 2011 that IG Mettall wants Chevrolet Captiva and the Opel Antara to be built in Bochum. Opel has been considering closing its Bochum plant, which produces the Zafira minivan.
Franz commented that GM should build the Agila subcompact in Gliwice, instead in South Korea as planned. GM is currently producing the Agila at Suzuki's site in Hungary. The plan is aimed at making the company’s European plants more efficient. In exchange, GM could push ahead with its cost-cutting plan to reverse the situation at Opel, which has posted losses of around $13 billion since 1999. [source: Bloomberg]
