Exporting more U.S. jobs?

General Motors has found a buyer for GM Global Steering Holdings, LLC, commonly known as Nexteer, its steering gear maker to a Chinese industrial group.

Nexteer’s proposed new owner is Pacific Century Motors, an entity formed by The Tempo Group and an affiliate of the Beijing Municipal Government.

PCM will acquire all of Nexteer’s operations, which has 6,200 employees in global steering and half-shaft operations, including 22 manufacturing facilities, six engineering facilities and 14 customer support centers located in North and South America, Europe and Asia.

Following the Export of U.S. Jobs!

Terms of the sale, which is expected to close by the end of the year, were not disclosed.

“The sale of Nexteer to PCM supports our objective to focus on our core auto business and is the final step in our efforts to position Nexteer as an independent supplier. The sale better enables Nexteer to take advantage of anticipated growth in the global auto industry with a variety of automakers,” said Stephen J. Girsky, GM vice chairman, Corporate Strategy and Business Development.

“Ultimately, it’s a move we believe will make it a more vibrant and healthier business,” Girsky said.

The sale follows an acrimonious contract fight at a Nexteer plant with 2,000 workers in Buena Vista Township near Saginaw, Michigan. After employees rejected one contract modification, GM officials and representatives of the United Auto Workers warned the plant could face a dim future without contract changes.

Members of UAW Local 699 then approved the contract changes, including wage cuts of as much as $8 per hour by better than a 2-to-1 margin, according to unofficial results. The pay cuts were to be accompanied by cash “buydowns” for workers facing reduced wages.

The rejected a contract proposal would have also limited health care coverage to the needs of an individual employee and would not have provided coverage to an employee’s family or dependents.

The language limiting access to health care for employee families was removed for the second vote. In addition, Nexteer’s management also laid off 80 employees after workers rejected the first contract proposal.

“The new ownership is a tremendously exciting opportunity for Nexteer,” said Nexteer president Robert J. Remenar. “Nexteer has grown to become a global leader in steering and driveline products, and our team will be working with the new owners to build on this great foundation,” he said.

“Today’s announcement reflects a win-win situation,” said Zhao Guangyi, chairman of PCM and its affiliate E-Town Development Area.

Nexteer’s headquarters will – it’s said – remain in Saginaw, and PCM intends to honor the terms of the new five-year labor agreement.

“The new ownership will provide access to not only continued capital investment but also new growth opportunities, which will allow Nexteer to continue its growth worldwide in technology and manufacturing, and particularly enable greater access to untapped business in the China market,” Zhao said.

The growth in China will help feed economic growth around Beijing, PCM officials said.