[nadepalma]

GM Korea fights two-front war
Asian hub hammered by slumping exports, rising costs
September 12, 2016
Hans Greimel
AutoNews.com

SEOUL -- Changing times mean changing tactics for General Motors' massive South Korean hub, which is being hammered by a double whammy of slumping exports and surging costs.

To offset slowing overseas shipments, GM Korea Co. is trying to boost sales at home, where South Korean consumers are buying foreign brands at record levels. The push comes after bosses in Detroit installed a new local CEO from outside the auto industry in a bet he can breathe innovation into GM's Korean business.

James Kim was poached from Microsoft Korea in June 2015 and named CEO on Jan. 1. He replaces veteran engineering and production guru Sergio Rocha, who was transferred to South America.

Kim's task is tough: Find new demand for vehicles churned out by GM Korea's four assembly plants and work with an oft-contentious union to rein in costs.

CONTINUE AT LINK ABOVE

 

[Neanderthal]

Interesting. Unfortunately for Kim, he can't farm out production to Chicommie sweatshops with captive workers.

Not much on product. Article talks about production and sales numbers. Trax, Encore, & Spark are now exported to the USA. Now really, folks, who would want to buy some POS Commie Korean tin box? Who are they kidding?

IMPORTING the Impala to Korea? Well, that's cool.

And Kim is an IT guy so that could prove interesting. Maybe he could occasionally pick Melissa Marshmallow's brain over at Cadillac for some hot tips on what really matters.

 

[mbukukanyau]

Interesting. Unfortunately for Kim, he can't farm out production to Chicommie sweatshops with captive workers.

Not much on product. Article talks about production and sales numbers. Trax, Encore, & Spark are now exported to the USA. Now really, folks, who would want to buy some POS Commie Korean tin box? Who are they kidding?

IMPORTING the Impala to Korea? Well, that's cool.

And Kim is an IT guy so that could prove interesting. Maybe he could occasionally pick Melissa Marshmallow's brain over at Cadillac for some hot tips on what really matters.

Sometimes a fresh set of eyes works wonders. There is a marketing chic that came from a soap company in Germany to refurbish Opel's marketing and she seems to have found a way of telling Opel's story.

 

[Neanderthal]

Sometimes a fresh set of eyes works wonders. There is a marketing chic that came from a soap company in Germany to refurbish Opel's marketing and she seems to have found a way of telling Opel's story.

That piece is a bit short on background. Here's a little more, from July 2015:

James comes to GM Korea from Microsoft Korea, where he has served as country manager/CEO since 2009. He previously was CEO at Yahoo! Korea and before that Asia regional vice-president and CEO, Korea, at Overture – a wholly owned subsidiary of Yahoo! – between 2005 and 2009.

He began his professional career in 1992 in the U.S. at AT&T Corporation as national marketing manager. James moved to Vivien International, a global manufacturing company, as CEO in 1995. He then joined CORCORAN.com, one of the first real estate websites in the U.S., in 1999 as CEO. He later was managing partner at Palisades Advisors in the U.S. from 2001 to 2005.

James has a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from the University of California at Los Angeles and a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard University, both in USA. He currently serves as chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) in Korea.

http://media.gm.com/media/kr/en/che...tent/Pages/news/kr/en/2015/june/0603-kim.html

 

[dslay04]

Interesting to say the least. I think they can do it. Building next gen Canyon, Trailblazer, and XT1/2 to S. Korea may help things.