News Summary: General Motors annual meeting
THE PROBLEM: General Motors Co.'s European unit has lost money for the past 12 years. It has too many factories and workers for the amount of cars it sells.
THE SOLUTION: GM is trying to restructure the unit and would like to cut the number of factories and employees to more closely match sales.
THE PROGRESS: CEO Dan Akerson told shareholders at the company's annual meeting Tuesday that it is making progress on the restructuring. The company has reached deals with English and Polish unions and is in "constructive" talks with German unions, he said. It's also working on cost savings from an alliance with French automaker PSA Peugeot Citroen and will save money by building more models off fewer vehicle architectures.
