GM Will Shift Cruze Production Out of South Korea

General Motors Co. says it will stop making the Chevrolet Cruze small sedan in South Korea by 2015 as part of a global restructuring of its factory capacity.

GM is not saying where Korea's current 150,000 units of Cruze production would move when the next-generation model debuts in late 2014. But the decision has sparked speculation that the output could relocate to Europe, where GM plants are underutilized.

Korean union leaders say GM told them the new model, expected to be the first to use GM's new global small-vehicle platform, will be built in five regions that include China, Europe and the U.S.

Earlier this year Korean unions threatened "war" if their work was moved to Europe. GM assured workers at the time that the company had no such plan. GM now says the Korean unit will focus on engineering and building minivehicles.