"the charge is not recurring, not that they don't have to pay it"
From the article:
-
GM lost $5 billion on its joint venture in China.
-
GM was so unprofitable and so undesirable in the Chinese market that it had to CLOSE PLANTS.
-
GM lost $350 million in China in the first three quarters of this year.
-
GM is cutting thousands of jobs in China.
-
Sales at SAIC-GM slumped 59% in the first 11 months of this year to 370,989 units.
All five points can be summed up this way: GM's presence in China is an unprofitable liability which will bring down the price per stock share and earnings per share.
GM has relied on profits from China for many years. This is a VERY BAD development.
One more thing:
GM has historically reacted to losing money by cutting labor in America.
The "your bonus is safe" mantra will not age well and we are very likely going to see cuts either tomorrow (12/06) or Friday the thirteenth. GM likes to put on their steel toe boots to kick us in the who-ha right around Christmas.