Troubled US automaker General Motors is planning to cut white-collar jobs in the United States because of rising financial problems, a source close to the situation said Thursday.

The source confirmed a letter published in the online The Wall Street Journal on Thursday from GM chief executive Rick Wagoner and chief operating officer Fritz Henderson. Read the rest of this entry »

Leading US automakers General Motors and Chrysler are engaged in preliminary talks that may result in their merger, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal reported on their websites.

The negotiations reflect growing concern in Detroit about competition from Japanese automakers and a realization that the US auto industry needs to restructure. Read the rest of this entry »

General Motors Corp. said Friday it was recalling 944,000 vehicles because of a problem with a windshield wiper fluid system that could lead to a fire.

More than 850,000 sport utility vehicles, trucks and passenger cars in the United States and nearly 100,000 vehicles in Canada, Mexico and the Middle East are involved in the recall, the company said.

GM said it includes the 2008 Buick Enclave, 2006-2008 Buick Lucerne, 2006-2008 Cadillac DTS, 2007-2008 Cadillac Escalade, 2007-2008 Cadillac Escalade ESV, 2007-2008 Cadillac Escalade EXT, 2007-2008 Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado, Tahoe and Suburban, 2007-2008 GMC Acadia, Sierra, Yukon and Yukon XL, 2006-2008 Hummer H2 and 2007-2008 Saturn Outlook.

The recall involves vehicles with a heated washer fluid system. A short circuit in the system could cause electrical features to malfunction, which could lead to an odor, smoke or potentially a fire.

GM spokeswoman Carolyn Markey said there have been nine reports of fires and three of them have been linked to the system. There have been no accidents or injuries connected to the defect, she said.

via The Detroit News

GM Daewoo Auto & Technology Co., the South Korean unit of General Motors Corp., said Friday it has been forced to halt production at its main factory as two local tiremakers stopped supplying tires to demand a price hike.

Vehicle production at GM Daewoo’s main plant in Bupyeong, west of Seoul, was suspended indefinitely from Friday afternoon as Hankook Tire Co. and Kumho Tire Co., the nation’s top two tiremakers, cut their supply.

The two companies are demanding a 12 per cent rise in tire prices.

“The two tiremakers account for 85 per cent of our tire demand,” said an official at GM Daewoo.

“Unless the supply resumes, it will significantly hurt production,” the official said, asking not to be named.

via TradingMarkets.com