GM to pull Aveo production from Korea

General Motors has informed its union in South Korea that it has no plans to build the next-generation of its Chevrolet Aveo small car in the country. The union has responded by threatening to strike.

GM informed the union on Thursday that it plans to build the next-generation Aveo – which as sold as the Sonic on these shores – exclusively in United States and China. The union stated shortly after the announcement that GM could add Aveo production to its South Korean facilities two years after the car's launch, but that report has been disputed by other union officials.

 

The timing of the announcement is less than ideal for GM Korea's labor relations. The company is currently holding wage talks with the union, which have gotten off to a rough start. Due to those factors, the union is now threatening to strike.

"It was a shocking announcement," the union said, according to Reuters.

"Should there is no change in the company's stance, the labor union will be able to launch strike action - our biggest legal weapon."

GM executives has previously stated that rising wages are making it increasingly unattractive to keep production in South Korea, a country that produces 40 percent of all Chevrolet models sold globally.

GM announced last year that it won't build the next-generation of the Cruze compact in South Korea.