General Motors Co. named Kaher Kazem, chief executive of GM India who successfully led the restructuring of the India unit, as the new head of GM Korea, raising both hopes and concerns for workers of former Daewoo Motor amid rumors about the U.S. carmaker pulling out of Korea.

According to GM Korea on Thursday, Kazem will be appointed CEO as of September 1, replacing his predecessor James Kim who resigned in July before the end of his term in March next year.

Unlike Kim who has had no experience in the auto industry before taking the helm at GM Korea, Kazem has served in the car industry for more than two decades, raising hopes that he would help resuscitate the Korean unit’s sluggish operations.

At the same time, the appointment immediately triggered worries over a possible restructuring of GM Korea as it comes immediately after the shutdown of GM India in May, ending the sale of GM cars in the country. The pullout, spearheaded by Kazem, was decided after lackluster car sales in India, with GM vehicles claiming less than 1 percent of market share in the country last year. GM will still keep the Indian plants open to manufacture cars for export to Mexico and Latin America.

GM’s withdrawal from Australia and Russia has also stoked speculations that Korea may be next. The U.S. carmaker designated the three countries as high-cost operations and made clear its intention to reduce or abandon the Korean market if labor and management relations don’t improve. GM Korea’s union and management are clashing over wages despite 2 trillion won ($1.75 billion) of losses incurred over the past three years.

“GM Korea’s latest leadership change seems to be the company`s warning to the labor union of a possible withdrawal from the Korean market,” said Lee Ho-geun, professor of automotive engineering at Daeduk University in Korea. “A restructuring is expected to be the next step that the company would take.”

GM Korea, however, has denied the pullout rumors.

Kazem began his career at GM in 1995 as a senior engineer and held several key positions in GM Holden Manufacturing Operations. In 2009, he was appointed vice president of regional production and quality in GM Thailand and ASEAN and in 2012 was named head of GM Uzbekistan. In 2015, he joined GM India as chief operating officer and was promoted to CEO the next year.

“I’m looking forward to leading GM Korea,” Kazem said in a statement. “Chevrolet is a strong brand in Korea and I plan to continue building on its success.”

By Lee Seung-hoon and Woo Je-yoon

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