Guangzhou Auto to recruit 3,000 new staff in '09

Shanghai, March 9 (Gasgoo.com) Guangzhou Automobile Group Co. Ltd (GAC) will recruit more than 3,000 new employees this year to help expand its operation.

"Despite the current economic crisis, we plan to recruit 500 R&D workers and 2,500 employees for the homegrown brand division this year to develop ourselves and ease employment pressure of the country, " Zeng Qinghong, general manager of Guangzhou Auto and deputy to the National People's Congress, told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting at the weekend.

Zeng revealed that his company is holding talks with some domestic and foreign auto manufacturers on possible acquisitions but has no timetable to give at the moment.

In a separate report, Zeng said his company would roll out the first batch of production cars under its own brand in October 2010. The car will be a mid- and high-end model powered by a 2.0L engine and has an annual output of 50,000 vehicles.

He also mentioned that the biggest challenge for own-brand car automakers currently is how to build up their brand image rather than seek technologies and he proposed government should level tax policies or others measures to help raise own brand awareness.