Polish Daewoo Workers Nervous As Parent Company Nears Bankruptcy

Daewoo's creditor banks extended to Wednesday a deadline for declaring Daewoo Motor Co., the second-biggest South Korean car manufacturer, bankrupt after last gasp talks on job cuts between the company, managers and unions broke down on Tuesday. Daewoo-FSO has enough components to resume production after a three-week halt aimed at cutting stocks of cars on November 20, said spokeswoman Krystyna Danilczyk. A high-level Polish government delegation is currently in Seoul to try to ensure the survival of Daewoo's Polish plants, but if the company is forced into receivership Wednesday there may be little to do until creditors sort out the situation and find a buyer. Daewoo employs about 24,000 people in Poland, and the number rises to 55,000 if subcontractors are included. Last month 1,200 layoffs were announced at Daewoo's Lublin van plant.