GENERAL Motors’ (GM) Changwon plant in South Korea, south of the capital Seoul, will increase the US automaker’s capacity in the nation to half a million cars a year once an upgrade is complete, executives said on Wednesday (Oct 19).

The Changwon facility, which will build GM’s so-called next-generation vehicles including an all-new Chevrolet crossover, is currently being remodeled and expanded as part of a plan that kicked off last year. GM has invested around 900 billion won (S$897 million) in the upgrade to date, including construction of new press and paint shops, Roberto Rempel, chief executive officer of GM Korea, said at an event to mark the plant’s 20th anniversary.

The next-generation global vehicles that will be made at Changwon are expected “to follow the Chevrolet Trailblazer in enjoying great success,” Rempel said. That model is currently produced at GM’s older plant in Bupyeong. “We will also be supporting Korea to accelerate its transition to electric vehicles by introducing 10 EVs by 2025.”

Once the upgrade is finished, Changwon will be able to make up to 60 cars an hour. Mass production is expected to start in the first quarter of 2023. GM exports many of its Korean-made Trailblazers to the US, where the vehicle ranks No 1 in compact SUV sales, according to the company. Rempel said GM has no plans to manufacture electric cars in Korea.

GM Korea’s chief financial officer Amy Martin said the automaker’s South Korea operations should be profitable next year. GM Korea has made a loss every year since 2014, company filings show.

One ongoing wrinkle for GM in the Asian nation - a highly unionized workforce.

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In 2019, workers at GM Korea, which became a part of GM in 2002, staged a full-scale strike, protesting over pay and reduced production at several plants. Former GM Korea CEO Kaher Kazem was banned from leaving the country that same year for the alleged illegal employment of temporary workers. That ban was lifted last year.

Indeed, some temporary workers held a small protest outside the Changwon plant on Wednesday after GM, according to local media, unsuccessfully filed a petition with a local court to quash the gathering.

Asked how GM will handle demands by temporary workers they be hired back after they’re let go, Rempel said GM’s key focus is being a “profitable organisation, we need to be efficient.” He added that labour flexibility is important.

Junoh Kim, a representative of GM Korea’s labour unions who was present at the ceremony on Wednesday, said he wants a company where “employees don’t feel anxiety about its future.” BLOOMBERG