General Motors History
History of General Motors The Renaissance Center in Detroit, Michigan, is General Motors
world headquarters. General Motors Corporation, also known as GM or GMC, is the world s
second largest car manufacturer based on annual sales. Founded in 1908, in Flint, Michigan, GM
employs approximately 284,000 people around the world. With global headquarters at the
Renaissance Center in Detroit, Michigan, USA, GM manufactures its cars and trucks in 33
countries. Their European headquarters is based in Zurich, Switzerland. In 2005, 9.17 million GM
cars and trucks were sold globally under the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC,
Daewoo, Holden, Hummer, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn and Vauxhall. Early history General Motors
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In 1948, GM divested NAA as a public company, never to have a major interest in the aircraft
manufacturing industry again. General Motors bought the internal combustion engined railcar
builder Electro Motive Corporation and its engine supplier Winton Engine in 1930, renaming
both as the General Motors Electro Motive Division. Over the next twenty years, diesel powered
locomotives the majority built by GM largely replaced other forms of traction on American
railroads. (During World War II, these engines were also important in American submarines and
destroyer escorts.) Electro Motive was sold in early 2005. In 1935, the United Auto Workers
labor union was formed, and in 1936 the UAW organized the Flint Sit Down Strike, which
initially idled two key plants in Flint, but later spread to half a dozen other plants including
Janesville, Wisconsin and Fort Wayne, Indiana. In Flint, police attempted to enter the plant to
arrest strikers, leading to violence; in other cities the plants were shuttered peacefully. The strike
was resolved February 11, 1937 when GM recognized the UAW as the exclusive bargaining
representative for its workers. World War II General Motors produced vast quantities of armaments,
vehicles, and aircraft during World War II for both Allied and Axis customers. By the spring of
1939, the German Government had assumed day to day control of American owned factories in
Germany, but decided against nationalizing them. During the war, the U.S. auto
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