General Motors chief calls jobs cuts in self-driving unit ‘prudent’

General Motors (GM) chief Mary Barra on Friday labeled as “prudent” the automaker’s plans to cut staff in its self-driving car unit.Workers who lose their positions will receive transition assistance and health care benefits for the remainder of the year.GM had stockpiled cash ahead of the pandemic and was the only one of the “Big Three” carmakers to turn a profit in the first three months of the year.

Catalan authorities deny report of Nissan closing factory in Barcelona

MADRID, May 15 (Xinhua) — The Catalan regional authority on Friday denied a report that appeared in the Japanese newspaper Nikkei on Thursday that automaker Nissan is planning to close its car factory in Barcelona and move production to other plants.
The Catalan region's Vice President Pere Aragones, who is also responsible for economy and finance, said on the Spanish radio network Radio 4 that Catalan authorities “were in contact with the company and unions. Nissan tells us they have not taken a decision yet and one will be made on May 28.”
The Nissan plant in Barcelona currently employs around 3,000 people directly and is also responsible for thousands of other posts in the logistics and transport sectors. Workers at the plant have been on strike since the start of the month because of the uncertainty over their future and the possible risk of working during the coronavirus pandemic.
Aragones said authorities would do “everything possible” to keep production at the plant. “Ther..

SsangYong Motor posts record Q1 loss amid virus woes

SsangYong Motor Co. reported on Friday that its net loss sharply widened in the first quarter compared to a year earlier, marking the 13th consecutive quarter in the red, amid growing worries over the coronavirus outbreak.Sales fell 30 percent to 649.19 billion won from 933.21 billion won during the same period.In 2011, Mahindra & Mahindra acquired a 70 percent stake in SsangYong Motor for 523 billion won.

Nissan is killing Datsun again, report says

Nissan is planning to discontinue its Datsun brand for the second time, a new report says.The automaker relaunched the nameplate in 2012 as a discount brand that’s today sold in only a few markets including South Africa, Indonesia and India, where it sells some models for as little as $4,000.An official announcement on Datsun’s fate is expected to be announced during Nissan’s earnings call on May 28.