Media Contact
Adam Allington
General Motors expects a restructuring of its joint venture operations with the Chinese company SAIC Motor Corp. to cost more than $5 billion in noncash charges and write-downs.
Arthur Wheaton
Director of Labor Studies, ILR School
Art Wheaton is an auto industry expert in Cornell’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations. Given that GM is facing many headwinds in China, he says a write down was not surprising.
Wheaton says:
“The prospect of a looming trade war with China also isn’t helping, nor is the current softening Chinese economy.
“Electric vehicles are really gaining traction in China, where domestically made vehicles are also much cheaper than American brands.
“Along with that, importing Buicks from China hasn’t really resulted in drastically lower prices to consumers. The Buick Envision is already on par with similar Korean models. Or, for just a thousand dollars more people can get the Buick Enclave, which is bigger and made just down the road in Lansing.”
