GM Suspends Thailand Operations

General Motors Thailand will temporally suspend operations in Thailand for December and the first three weeks of January due to a slump in demand. GM, the worlds largest automaker recently begged for a government bailout package in the US as it suffers from the effects of the global financial crisis.

The shutdown in Thailand obviously won't improve matters, with some 2,000 employees sitting at home yet still being paid 75% of their salaries.

GM's Rayong facility in Thailand is capable of rolling out 130,000 vehicles a year. In 2007, over 100,000 units left the plant for sale in Thailand, and export markets.

GM reckon they have plenty of vehicles to meet the sales in December and January, and are expecting a very sluggish start to 2009.