GM bankruptcy in the US will not impact General Motors SA

By Mikhaila Crowie
8 April 2009

There is a strong possibility of General Motors (GM) in the United States going bankrupt due to the slow sale of cars, but employees of General Motors South Africa (GMSA) can sleep soundly at night, as it will not have a significant impact on GMSA.

GMSA generates its own funding and does not rely on its North American counterpart.

It also relies on local suppliers for its components.

However local vehicle sales have dropped by more than a third this year despite interest rate cuts.

The National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of SA last week indicated that new vehicle sales dropped 30.3% year on year last month to 36 331, confirming the depressed and increasingly desperate state of the domestic vehicle market.

Last week GMSA indicated it would retrench 700 workers.