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GM says cuts are finished
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January 9, 2001: 3:44 p.m. ET
CEO Wagoner says further permanent plant closings, production cuts not needed
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DETROIT (CNNfn) - General Motors Corp. CEO Rick Wagoner said Tuesday he doesn't see the need to permanently close any of the automaker's plants worldwide, despite the recent downturn and production cutbacks announced by the world's leading automaker.
In a meeting with reporters at the North American International Auto Show here, Wagoner said he also believes the cuts in first-quarter production announced Monday should be enough to adjust inventories without further cutbacks in the next couple of months, although he says GM will continue to monitor sales on an ongoing basis.
Citing declining consumer confidence and softening auto sales, GM (GM: Research, Estimates) said Monday it will reduce its planned first quarter production to 1.2 million vehicles, 8 percent below the estimates of a month earlier and 21 percent below production in the first quarter of 2000, when U.S. vehicle sales were at a record pace.
GM announced plans to shut a plant in Britain and a U.S. engine plant in the coming years when it announced a broad restructuring that included the elimination of the Oldsmobile and the cutting of 10 percent of salaried staff in North America and Europe. But it did not announce the permanent closing of any North American assembly plant despite the belief by some analysts it still has excess capacity.
 Wagoner said he hopes GM will be able to reverse its long-term decline in market share, although he wouldn't give projections about its share or what competitor he hopes to take sales from.
"This is a horserace I don't have to handicap. I just have to try to increase our share," he said.
Wagoner said the company is continuing to have discussions about the future of Hughes Electronics (GMH: Research, Estimates), which the company is looking at possibly selling or spinning off to unlock some shareholder value. He wouldn't give any time estimate for a final decision. He also said discussions are continuing about a possible joint purchase with Fiat of trouble Korean automaker Daewoo Motors. But his comments suggested GM's interest has lessened somewhat during the last year, when Daewoo initially turned to Ford Motor Co. (F: Research, Estimates) as a potential buyer before Ford walked away from a purchase last fall, leaving Daewoo again looking to GM.
"I think (the delay) was expensive, but I can't put a dollar value on it," he said. "We do like it, but we went through one phase where it looked like we lost it, so that forces you to look at what some alternatives might be. Frankly, the message from the Wall Street community is some anxiety over the deal, so we need to make sure it works." 
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Honda Accord gets best rating in study - Jan. 9, 2001
GM cuts production target - Jan. 8, 2001
Automakers search for next hot model - Jan. 8, 2001
What a concept - a car on sale soon - Jan. 8, 2001
Big Three at crossroads at auto show - Jan. 7, 2001
Big Three post big sales drop - Jan. 3, 2001
Analyst says hard landing hitting autos - Dec. 15, 2000
GM cuts jobs, Oldsmobile division - Dec. 12, 2000
Auto sale fall hits profits, production - Dec. 1, 2000
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