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This article is from msn.
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/Dispatch/default.aspx?feat=1655878
Posted by Charley Blaine on Wednesday, February 24, 2010 4:02 PM
Updated: 6:20 p.m. ET.General Motors said today it will wind down its Hummer SUV line after failing to complete a deal to sell the brand to China's Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co."We are disappointed that the deal with Tengzhong could not be completed," John Smith, GM vice president of corporate planning and alliances, said in a statement.
The Hummer is a large SUV that was modified from a U.S. Army vehicle that was very visible during the 1991 Persian Gulf War. It came to personify big, gas-guzzling vehicles. But its popularity crashed when gasoline prices began to soar. "GM will now work closely with Hummer employees, dealers and suppliers to wind down the business in an orderly and responsible manner," Smith said. A source briefed on the situation said Tuesday that Beijing had rejected a bid by Tengzhong, an industrial equipment maker based in Sichuan province, to buy the money-losing brand from GM. GM said it will continue to honor warranties and provide service support and spare parts to current Hummer owners.Hummer has nearly 400 dealerships globally, including 153 in the United States, The New York Times said.About 3,000 jobs in the United States could be affected by the shutdown, including positions at GM and the brand’s dealerships.
A factory in Shreveport, La., that builds the Hummer H3 and H3T and other GM trucks already was scheduled to close by 2012. The larger H2 was built for GM by A. M. General in Mishawaka, Ind., until December, when production was temporarily halted to allow for the sale process to conclude.
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