Strike Halts Operations at GM Plant in Brazil

General Motors Co. confirms its factory in Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil, has been idled by a strike, Reuters reports.

More than 4,000 workers voted to walk out indefinitely in protest of several hundred layoffs made over the past weekend, according to the news service.

More than 4,000 workers voted to walk out indefinitely in protest of several hundred layoffs made over the past weekend, according to the news service.

Separately, Daimler AG says it will shed about 2,000 workers at its Mercedes-Benz truck plant in Sao Bernardo, Brazil, at the end of August. The facility is running below 60% of capacity, according to the company.

The GM plant, which is located outside Sao Paulo, makes trucks, engines and transmissions. Workers there earlier rejected a GM proposal to retain all jobs for a year in return for a 10% wage cut.

In July GM described the Sao Jose facility as not cost competitive and said the plant would not be included in the company's plan to invest $1.9 billion in Brazil over the next four years. The spending will be to modernize rather than expand capacity in Brazil, where vehicle sales have plunged 20% this year.