GM - General Motors

General Motors (GM) commonly known as GM, is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, that designs, manufactures, markets and distributes vehicles and vehicle parts and sells financial services. General Motors produces vehicles in 37 countries under thirteen brands: Alpheon, Chevrolet, Buick,GMC, Cadillac, Holden, HSV, Opel, Vauxhall, Wuling, Baojun, Jie Fang, UzDaewoo. General Motors holds a 20% stake in IMM, and a 77% stake in GM Korea. It also has a number of joint-ventures, including Shanghai GM, SAIC-GM-Wuling and FAW-GM in China, GM-AvtoVAZ in Russia, Ghandhara Industries in Pakistan, GM Uzbekistan, General Motors India, General Motors Egypt, and Isuzu Truck South Africa. General Motors employs 212,000 people and does business in more than 120 countries. General Motors is divided into five business segments: GM North America (GMNA), Opel Group, GM International Operations (GMIO), GM South America(GMSA), and GM Financial.[9]:12, 13 As part of its 2009 bankruptcy restructuring the current company, General Motors Company LLC, ("new GM"), was formed in 2009, after the bankruptcy of the General Motors Corporation ("old GM"). The new company purchased the majority of the assets of "old GM", including the name "General Motors".

The trade union that represents most workers at General Motors Co's (GM) South Korea operations said on Tuesday it will contest the U.S. automaker's decision not to build Impala sedans in the country, amplifying tension in labor relations ahead of annual wage talks between management and union.

The union said its leader, Ko Nam-seok, plans to meet GM Chief Executive Mary Barra later this month and protest against a decision that it said "threatens the existence of GM Korea". The union, a branch of the national metalworkers union, claims to represent 14,000 of the GM's South Korea workforce of 17,000.

GM said earlier on Tuesday it won't build the vehicles in the country, but will continue to import the Impala from a Detroit plant, helped by a free trade deal with the United States that has boosted the price competitiveness of imports.

South Korea had for years been a low-cost export hub for GM, producing close to a fifth of its global output. But labor costs in the country have risen by nearly half in just five years, hurting manufacturing competitiveness, GM executives have said.

The union had urged GM to bring Impala production to South Korea to allay its long-held fear that the firm may scale back operations in the country. GM operates four factories in South Korea but has been grappling with low utilization rates at two of them for the past couple of years.

The decision would damage labor relations in the run-up to annual wage talks, the union said. "We will have a prolonged and persistent fight," said one union official, speaking on condition of anonymity, adding the union would not rule out calling workers out on strike.

Capacity utilization rates at GM's factory in the city of Gunsan have suffered since it stopped selling its Chevrolet-branded vehicles in Europe, most of which were shipped from the plant. The company also stopped producing Buick LaCrosse sedans at its second factory in Bupyeong, located near Seoul.

The union had urged the company to move Impala production to Bupyeong, and said on Tuesday it will continue to seek the production of another mid- or large-sized sedan there. The automaker has said it expects its revamped Captiva SUVs and Malibu sedans to help raise Bupyeong utilization rates.

General Motors on Thursday said it has agreed to settle a lawsuit that would have been the third case to go to trial over a faulty ignition switch linked to nearly 400 injuries and deaths.

In a letter filed in federal court in Manhattan, GM's lawyers said the automaker had entered into a confidential settlement with Nadia Yingling, whose lawsuit over her husband's 2013 death following a car crash was set to go to trial May 2.

It was unclear why GM decided to settle the case. GM confirmed the deal but offered no further comment. A lawyer for Yingling did not respond to a request for comment.

The deal came a week after GM scored a win in the first case to reach a verdict in a series of six test trials scheduled over the ignition switch.

The switch can slip out of place, causing engines to stall and cutting power to the brake, steering and air bag systems.

Although GM succeeded in last week's trial in convincing jurors that the ignition switch in question was not responsible for the accident in the case, the jury did conclude the switch was defective.

A prior trial ended without a verdict in January following allegations that the plaintiff gave misleading testimony.

GM has admitted that some of its employees knew about the problems for years, and it has already paid roughly $2 billion in settlement and penalties. It continues to face 235 injury and death lawsuits consolidated before a federal judge in Manhattan.

Unlike the prior two trials, the Yingling case involved a death rather than alleged injuries. It was one of three cases picked by lawyers representing plaintiffs to be a subject of one of the test trials.

The lawsuit centered on the death of James Yingling, a married father of five, following a car crash in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, on Nov. 21, 2013. The suit claimed the accident was the result of a defective ignition system in his 2006 Saturn Ion.

Lawyers for Nadia Yingling, of Alum Bank, Pennsylvania, which is about 115 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, claimed that the defect caused the engine to shut down without warning, instantly disabling the car's brakes and power steering system and causing her husband to lose control of the car.

The car then collided with a ditch bank and concrete culvert, according to court papers. Yingling died from traumatic brain injury on Dec. 8, 2013, the lawsuit said.