GM's China Struggles: A $5bn Hit

General Motors, a big US car company, just took a massive $5bn hit because of its businesses in China. This is a big deal because China used to be their largest market. They said the losses came from changes in their business plans and some restructuring. This isn't great news for GM, as it means they have to write off almost $3bn from their joint ventures in China, plus $2. 7bn for restructuring. Investors weren't happy about this news. GM's shares dropped by 3% early on Wednesday, adding to the previous day's fall of 2. 5%. Big western carmakers like GM and Volkswagen from Germany are having a tough time in China. They're facing strong competition from local manufacturers. Toyota, Honda, and BMW have also seen big drops in their profits because of China's troubles. GM has several partnerships in China with a company called SAIC Motor Corp. Earlier this month, Volkswagen decided to sell a plant in Xinjiang due to criticism about human rights issues in that region. GM's CEO, Mary Barra, had told investors in October that they would start seeing improvements by the end of this year. But experts are saying that western carmakers might not get back to the profits and market share they used to have in China. This means they might focus more on the US, which is now GM's biggest market.