News In Brief

General Electric announced the appointment of veteran senior manager Jeffrey Immelt to succeed retiring chief executive officer John (Jack) Welch when the latter leaves at the end of next year. Immelt joined GE in 1982 and has headed its $7 billion-a-year medical systems division since 1997. He also has held executive positions in the company's plastics and appliances units.

Creditors were meeting to consider whether much-needed new loans should be extended to bankrupt Daewoo Motor Co. after the giant South Korean automaker's employee union reversed course and OK'd a plan for deep layoffs. Daewoo, which has filed for receivership, needs at least $550 million by the end of the year to avoid potential liquidation. The company proposed 3,500 job cuts as part of a larger restructuring plan. All 5,700 nonunion employees are to offer their resignations today to help Daewoo restructure, a spokesman said.

Siemens will launch a radical reorganization of US operations to coincide with its debut next March on the New York Stock Exchange, a senior executive told The Financial Times. He said the company would reduce its divisions into four clusters: healthcare; e-commerce fulfillment and logistics; high technology; and airports. And he confirmed plans for a major campaign to enhance the company's relatively low brand recognition in the US, which last year surpassed Germany as its leading market. Its US workforce has grown from 47,000 to 76,000 in the past five years.

(c) Copyright 2000. The Christian Science Publishing Society

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